Road to Redemption
by UH-60 NIGHTSTALKER
Summary: A follow up story to " After the War". Zuko is allowing Azula to live out her life at the south pole. But Will Azula be able to build a new life, when she is still troubled by what she did as a Princess?
1. Prolouge

_**Prologue.**_

_Fire Lord Zuko _sat in his study in the Royal palace. It had been 4 years since he had become Fire Lord and took up the unenviable task of rebuilding not only the Fire Nation, but it's reputation as well. Since the end of the war, Zuko in his new role, had set about creating programs and projects that would not only help in the revamping of his nation's economy, but also see to that the 2 other nations of the world ( _Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes)_ would also benefit from this as well. But he had an up hill battle ahead of him. Even though the world was at peace and he had manage to gain trade with both Kyoshi island and the northern Water tribe, there were still some cites in the Earth Kingdom that were unwilling to allow Fire Nations merchant vessels to dock in their port, let alone do trade with the Fire Nation all together and considering that these same cites had suffered unspeakable horrors and hardships under the decades long Fire Nation occupation, Zuko could not really blame them for not wanting to do trade with them. He could only hope that the trade mission that was sent to _Ba Sing Se_, lead by _Fire Lady Mai,_ would be able to change the minds of the Earth Kingdom rulers.

There was also the problem with groups of Fire Nation solders that had gone rouge when Ozai was defeated. There were reports coming out of the Earth Kingdom of groups of Fire Nation solders that would attack villages in rural parts of the Kingdom and ram sack them for gold, food or just to cause trouble. They would all clam that they were still fighting for the glory of the Fire Nation and that they would continue their "Glorious Campaign" until Zuko is dethroned and Ozai is restored as the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. But in reality, they were nothing more than bandits and thieves that could care less if Ozai was king or not. They only wanted an excuse continue with there war like ways simply because they liked it and Zuko knew this. He knew as long as these thugs were lose, the task of rebuilding the Fire Nation's reputation would be difficult. Then of course was the reputation that the Fire Nation had already.

As far as the rest of the world was concerned, the Fire Nation was nothing more than a nation of blood thirsty, inhuman, violent creatures that did not care about the lives of others. At least that was one of the things Zuko heard a man say when he was on a state visit to Ba Sing Se. There still was a strong Anti-Fire Nation sentiment in the other 2 nations of the world. On his trip, there were large Anti-Fire Nation rallies all over the city and some of them turned violent. No one was killed, but it was a harsh reminder to Zuko that he had a long road ahead of him when it came to the task of making atonement for the crimes committed by both his father an grand father respectively and he had gained some ground when he began to sponsor 3 orphanages in the Massive city.

But right now as he sat in his private study all these matters were secondary and far from his mind, as there was one matter on his mind that had to be tended to. On his desk, was a letter from the warden of the Boiling Rock prison. For the last 4+ years, her had received letters from the warden about the current condition of a prisoner that had been sent there at the war's end. He was updated about the health and progress of said prisoner since she had been sent there for her own well being, after she suffered a complete mental break down when she was defeated by a young Water Tribe bender. Zuko remembered that day all to well, he was there when his sister descended into madness in front is very eyes. Over the years , he was told about the many states of mind that she had gone through. Of her year of ranting, of her year of threatening the prison guard and other prisoners. But most of all, he was told about the year she spent crying, begging and pleading to see her brother , Mai and Ty Lee so that she could apologize to them of the way she treated them. Of course, Zuko and his wife refused to go see the former princess and friend at first.

Even though Azula was his sister, he could not bring himself to go see the same person who had tried to kill him an his friends. Not to mention, was just as cold blooded and heartless as the same person that was responsible burning that scar on the left side of his face. He would have loved nothing more than to leave that 'monster' locked away forever. But he would remember what his mother once told him. "_With out redemption, what hope is there for us?"_ Plus, he also remembered hat his uncle said to him last time he was in Ba Sing Se.

"_You can pick your course in life, but you can not pick who your family are. And like it or not, Azula is family and we must treat her as such, or we would only cause her to only hate us more and show that we are no better than her father." _

Iroh had a point, and Zuko knew that. If he were to leave his sister and only other family member locked up, he would only show that he was just a heartless as his father, and Zuko wanted nothing to do with that monster what so ever. He knew that eventually he would have to find a way to help his sister and from what he had read in the letter, she was truly a broken fire bender. All she would do, was sit on her bed in her cell/cooler and wait for her daily meals to be given to her. Zuko knew that the only reason that his sister ended up the way she was, was because of his father's sick manipulation of her mind. Azula took her father's treatment of her as a sign of love, but in reality he did not love her at all. That fact alone, caused her already fragile mental state to crack. The breaking point of course, being on the day of Sozin's and her defeat at the hands of Katara. As it turned out, Azula was just another victim of his father's cruelty and if he were to leave his sister locked away, he would only be a accomplice to his sister's suffering.

But he had to be careful about this. Even though Azula had been imprisoned and striped of her royal title, there were still a number of nobles in the Fire Nation that were still very loyal to the old regime and its imprisoned leader. They would love nothing more than to have a symbol of that old regime to pop up, so they could use it to rally up more support to over throw Zuko and install a new Fire Lord to suit their needs. And Azula would have been the perfect choice to do this, since Ozai had fallen out of favor. But in her current mental state, Azula would have been easily manipulated in to thinking that the population wanted her back. When in reality, she would have only be shut away again and another Fire Lord (_of sane mind)_ would be crowned. That would only send her back into her insanity and she would only be another victim of the old regime. Zuko could not let that happen, he had to find a way to to keep his sister safe.

It was then an idea came to him, but he would need some help in doing this. First, he sent out an letter to his friend Aang and his wife, Katara, asking them to come and see him. Next, he sent out an invitation for an Earth Kingdom citizen only known as "_The Mechanist"_ to come to the palace. But most of all, he began to enlist the aid of some of his loyalist solder. Cause for this plan to be a success, secrecy was key and he had to make sure that he could trust the men that would be the ones to carry this out. A short time later, the royal messenger had came came and collected to 2 letters to be sent to there respective recipients while a call was sent out to a number of naval personnel that had served with him when he was in exile and searching for the Avatar. When that was done, Zuko made a list of items that would be collected and be ready to ship as soon as possible. The only thing that Zuko could do now, was hope that all would go well and if it did, Azula would have a chance to rebuild her life.

_**Seven Months Later...**_

It was an rainy morning as Zuko stood on the docks in the Fire Nation capital. In front of him, was a Fire Navy coal carrier named "_ Rock Fish". _On board the vessel, the crew were making there final checks of the 30 year old vessel before it set sail on its covert mission. Just months before, the vessel was selected by _The Mechanist _to have some modification done to it, which included having a special chilled compartment built in its hole to hold its covert cargo/passenger. As this was going on, Zuko, Aang and Katara had have meetings with the both the Northern and Southern Water tribes in aiding with Zuko's plan an at the end of these meetings, it was the southern tribe that had agreed to help in the construction of a new 'Facility' at the south pole, while the northern tribe would help in Azula's healing process. All that had to be done now, was for the Rock Fish to head to the Boiling Rock and transfer Azula to her new home.

" Remember Captain, this mission is of the up most importance to me." Zuko said to the captain, "Remember, no one must know what we are doing or know where she would be kept. As far as every one is concerned, she is still at Boiling Rock. Do you under stand me?"

"Understood, your grace." The captain said, " but what if she tries to fight back?"

" That would not be a problem. She has been exposed to the cold air for almost 5 years. From what I under stand, her body has been weakened because of this. So I ask you to be careful with her. Or else you will have to answer to me." Zuko replied, the captain just nodded. With a slight bow, the captain made his way up the gang plank as the rest of the crew began to untie the last few ropes that held the ship to the dock.

Within a few minutes, the Rock Fish had cleared the dock and was now making it's way out to sea. Zuko just stood on there and watched the vessel slowly chugged its way out of the harbor for a few minutes. He was glad that the sun had not come up as yet, which meant that most persons would not have been able to see the ship as it left and if all went well no one would ever know what was its true intent. As Zuko turned and headed back to his personal carriage, he could not help but to think if this plan would really work and if it did he would have been successful in preventing his father from taking another family from him.

With that thought in mind, Zuko sat in his carriage and signaled the driver to take him back to the palace.


	2. Hidden Princess

_**Chapter 1: Hidden Princess. **_

Captain Bihai Stood on the bridge of his vessel, the _Rock Fish. Bihai_ had been in the Fire Navy for a number of years and had taken part in a number of operations that the Fire Nation under took during the war. He had been every where, from the ill fated assault on the northern water tribe, where his ship was one of the very few to survive the operation. To transporting the solders that occupied the city of _Ba Sing Se, _where his ship was stationed for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, Bihai vessel was then tasked with the transporting of Earth Kingdom prisoners from the fire nation back to the Earth Kingdom. When that was done, he then took up an post as an adviser to the Southern Water Tribes, to aid them in the removal of a number of Fire Nation vessels that had been abandoned there over the years. It was at this time, he was contacted by the Fire Lord himself, to take part in an covert operation that was of great importance to not only him, but the Fire Nation as well. And seeing that for the last 2 years, Bihai had been in the south pole, he would be perfect for this mission.

Officially, he was to take command of the Rock Fish where it would be used to do trade with the southern water tribe. But Bihai and and his crew knew better, they knew the real reason they made monthly runs to the south pole and right know, the Rock Fish was now sitting off the south pole coast, waiting for the one person that would help them complete their covert mission. Then, a small sailing ship commonly found and used by the southern water tribe came into view and sailed up to the side of the ship. On board the vessel were only 2 persons. The first was a man in his early thirties and he stood at 5'11". The second was a woman that was about the same age as the man and she stood only at 5'4''. The sailing vessel was tied up along side of the Rock Fish and its 2 occupants climbed aboard. After exchanging a few words with Bihai, the 2 water tribesmen, went to the front of the ship. Where they took up positions on either side of the deck. As this went on, Bihai ordered the vessel to sail forward and get the cargo ready to be dropped off.

Rock Fish chugged forward, cutting through the water ever so slowly so as to not hit any of the small ice bergs that were prevalent there that day. Ahead of the Rock Fish, was the south pole coast line and directly ahead of it, was the face of a large cliff. To any one that saw the vessel, they would think that Rock Fish was willingly trying to wreck itself on the cliff face and that would be true if it weren't for the 2 tribes men on board for as the ship neared the cliff face, they brought up their arms and made some fluid motions with them. Then suddenly, the the cliff face began to part and revile a passage way hidden behind it! As it turned out, the cliff face concealed the entrance to a small bay and the 2 tribes men were in fact, Water Benders. The ship passed through the opening and entered the bay. The waters were placid and there was no ice in it. Since it was summer, most of the snow had melted away, reviling the black, pebbles that made up the shore line and jutting out into the water, was a pier just big enough foe the Rock Fish to dock.

The 2 water benders returned to there sailing vessel and detached themselves so that the larger vessel could dock and off load its cargo. As the ship neared the pier, a lone figure watched from her vantage point on a near by hill. She saw the Rock Fish come along side the dock, as some of the crew disembarked and tied the ship to the dock. This was nothing new, over the years, she had seen this vessel do the exact same thing every time it docked there for the last 2 years and she also knew why it came. With a small sigh, the figure scratched the head of the lone _Polar Bear Dog_ that was with her and she began her long walk to the pier to greet her 'guests'.

Back at the pier, Bihai had now disembarked himself and was now over seeing the removal of the cargo that were to be dropped off. It was not much, just a few crates of food, clothes, and some furniture that had been requested a few months ago. As he was doing this, he notice a lone figure walking on to the pier. The figure was obviously female and she was dressed in a snow suit, similar to the ones that were worn by the females of the water tribe. But since it was Summer, the figure did not have much of it on if it were winter and with her, was a Polar Bear Dog that walked along side of her. As she got closer, Bihai saw who it was and recognized her instantly. She was the reason why they were there in the first place. As she came up, Bihai said..."Princess Azula, good to see you again."

Azula just nodded in return. At the end of the war, Azula had suffered a major mental break down after she was defeated by Katara in the Fire Nation capital and for the next 5 years, she had been imprisoned in the Fire Nation's most notorious prison, _The Boiling Rock. _While there, she was kept in a specially built cell that was constantly chilled, so that she would be unable to Fire/Lighting bend. For the first 2 years of her stay she had yelled, screamed, and threatened every one and every thing that would even care to listen to her. She would screamed that how she was the Fire Lord and that she would get her revenge on every one and any one that had wronged her in any way. But on her 3 year there, she began to think about what she had done and how in the end, she was now all alone. Her father had proven that he never really loved her, she had caused the only friends that she really had to turn on her, her brother had her locked away in the Fire Nation's most notorious prison. It was then she realized that her mother was right, she truly was a monster and as a result, she was for the first time in her life, all alone. But what really made it worse for her, was that it was all her fault and for the next year, she cried, begged and pleaded with the prison guards to allow her to see Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee, so that she could say... "_I'm Sorry..."_

But they did not listen, the guards only thought that it was some kind of trick so that she could get a chance to kill the new Fire Lord. But then one day, Azula finally fell silent and she would not make a sound for the next 2 years. All she would do, was sit on her bed and wait for her daily meals to be served to her. She thought that she would be doomed to live out her life as a prisoner and freeze in her cell, but that would not be the case, for Zuko had a special home built for her at the south pole so that she could live out her life as a free woman and for the last few years, she had done just that. She was set up in a home that was located in a remote part of the pole so that no one could find her and considering that there were persons that would either want to use her as a figure head to topple the current Fire Lord, or to get there revenge by killing her. Azula and her father had made more than a few enemies in the Fire Nation and since Ozai was imprisoned and under heavy guard, Azula would be their next best target. Hence the reason for hiding the entrance to the bay. As far as any one knew, Azula was still at Boiling Rock, freezing away in her own misery. When in reality, she was building a new life at the south pole. Azula was very thankful for what her brother had done for her and she intended to make her brother not regret his decision.

" Captain, it is good to see that you are well" Azula replied, " How was your trip?"

" It was fine, we had good weather all the way here." Bihai replied. Over the years, he had managed to build up a small relationship with the former princess and it amazed him of how much different she really was, compared to the evil, demonic, cold blooded individual that she was painted to be back in the Fire Nation. " I see Bao is doing well" he said motioning to the Polar Bear Dog that was with her. Bao just barked and waged her tail. A month after she was given her freedom, one of the Northern tribe healers that was treating her had given a polar bear puppy so that she could have some form of companionship. Though she was reluctant at first, Azula soon bonded with the creature and named her Bao. Bao became Azula's constant companion and to some extent, her first real friend in a long time

" Yes, she is. I don't know what I would do with out her." Azula said, as she scratched her companion's head. For the next few hours, the Rock Fish crew continued to off load the ship and carry the cargo to Azula's home, which was located 300 meters from the beach. While this was going on, the water benders that had came with the ship were treating Azula with a new healing technique that focused on the _'Chi' _patterns of the brain. The theory was that because of her father's manipulation over the years, coupled with her extensive use of her Lighting, had disrupted the flow of her Chi around her brain and as a result, she had become unstable. The treatment consisted of using water bending to return the flow of Chi to its natural course and in effect, cure Azula from her madness and for the last 3 years, Azula had undergone these treatments. It was slow going at first, but it was soon evident that the treatments were working and that Azula was showing signs of improvement. But she still had a long way to go before she would be completed healed. She had been able to let go of all the hate that had almost destroyed her, but Azula still had a huge feeling of guilt for the way she had treated the people that were around her. But she was getting help to deal with guilt by talking with the male water tribesman that had was there with her.

The sun was finally beginning to set in the west and that meant it was time for the crew of the Rock Fish to be leaving. To Keep the vessel's covert mission a secret, the crew still had to make a port of call at the southern water tribe village and pick up a shipment of fresh fish to be sent back to the Fire Nation, seeing that the cove story for the ship's trip to the south pole, was to do trade with the southern water tribes. Since the vessel still had the cooler that it originally used to transport Azula, this would not be a problem for the Rock Fish to keep the cargo safe. The 2 water bender too had to leave, as far as any knew, the benders were only out there to ensure that the Rock Fish would be able to safely navigate the ice berg infested waters. No one was to know about the secret bay, or about its current resident.

" See you in the next month, your highness." Captain Bihai called out from the deck of his vessel, as it slowly began to pull away from the dock. " Indeed, I look forward to seeing you again." Azula replied, waving back at him. Azula just stood on the dock with Bao at her side and watched the Rock Fish retied the sail boat next to it and went back through that opening. No sooner had it gone through, the 2 large ice walls closed back in on them selves, once again shutting her off from the rest of the world. As she saw the wall closed, Azula could not help but to feel a bit sad. For her, it was like Boiling Rock all over again. Locked away in her cell, with the doors only opening up to allow her daily meals to be served to her. The only difference this time, was that she was living at the south pole and her 'Daily meals" were the Rock Fish docking there, once a month. Which meant that she was completely alone most of the time. With the exception of Bao, she had no one else around to talk to.

But then again, she would remember that she had brought this on to her self and even though she was thankful for her brother freeing her, Azula would sometimes wish that her would have killed her when he had the chance. But right now, she could not let these thoughts fill her mind. From what her healers had told her, she was making progress both mentally and physically and she was determined to take advantage the second chance that she had to get better.

" _With out redemption, what hope is there for us?" _Those were the words Azula once heard her mother say Zuko when she was young, and there was no doubt in her mind that it was those words that influenced Zuko in his decision to to free her and give her a new home. She just hoped that their was hope for her and that she truly be redeemed. Azula allowed that thought to sink in, as she and Bao left the dock and headed back to there home.


	3. Glorious Heritage

_**Chapter 2: Glorious Heritage .**_

It was the third week into the Fire Nation's latest offensive in the eastern Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation army had only seen success after success. In the last 3 weeks, the fire nation forces had managed to capture a number of villages that dotted the area and even though their defenders had put up a fight, they were no match for the fire nation and their new metallic war machines. For the Fire Nation, the taking of these villages were a great victory indeed, for they needed the resources that were prevalent in these areas to continue their "Glorious" campaign. But their recent victories had come with a price, for they had lost a number of their best solders in the offensive, solders that could not be easily replaced and what really worried the commander of said operation was that word of the recent battles would reach the other villages in the Kingdom and when they heard about the massive casualties the Fire Nation forces took, they would be inspired to to fight back and they would cause even more casualties and the offensive would come to a halt. This was something that the offensives overseer , Azula could not have. She had to find a way to send a message to the other villages that fighting back would not be in their best interest and if they did, they would punished. And unfortunately for one village, Azula was about to put her plan into play.

An old man was drug out in to the village square. In front of him, he could see the burning remains of of the town hall. A result of the Fire Nation's brutal occupation of his town. Then, he saw some solders escort what was left of the village out into the square, along with some of the Earth Kingdom solders that had tried to defend his town and lined up in front of him. He could see the fear in there eyes, some of them were even crying and holding on to each other for support. Then, a young woman dressed in Fire Nation garb came up to him and he recognized her as the same one that had asked for his village's surrender just 3 days ago. She leaned down into his face and she had an smile on hers, and the nice kind.

" You should have taken up my offer to surrender, Lo." Azula said coldly, " You could have avoided all of this by just surrendering your village to us, but you chose to fight us and look where it got you."

" Your nothing more than beast!" Lo shot back, " Even if we did surrender, you would have still destroyed our village! You and you acursed father, the 2 of you are nothing more than demons in human for!"

" SILENCE!" Azula yelled, as she slapped the old man across his face. " Because of your ignorance, you have forced my hand!" and with that, she motioned with her hands for her solders to line up in front of their prisoners. " Remember, it is your fault for this happening... NOW!" and with that order, the solder sent a wall of fire at them. Lo could only look on in horror as 5he same people that her swore to protect, were instantly engulfed by the flames, there horrific screams filling his ears. But all Azula did was smile cruelly as she saw them being burned alive and within a few minutes, the flames dwindled leaving no trace of their victims what so ever.

"You...you... MONSTER!" Lo screamed, trying to break free and kill this demon woman, but his age kept him from freeing himself from his captors.

" This is what you are going to to for me. I am going to let you go and you are going to the next village and tell them what you saw. Then, you are going to tell them that it is in their best interest not to fight us and to surrender. Do you under stand me? Azula said coming right up to his face. All the man could do was just nod in agreement. " But just to make sure they get my point..." She trailed off, as she brought her hand up to his face and proceeded to burn the left side of his face, as he let out a scream of horror...

Azula shot up from her bed in a cold sweat, she looked around the room as if she was looking for some one but the only person that she found was Bao who was asleep at the side of her bed. She breathed heavily. '_Only a dream'_ she thought to her self, as she shifted herself so that her feet were hanging off the bed. She slipped her feet into her slippers, wrapped herself in her robe and made her way into the kitchen. But as she did this, her mind raced with the memory of the 'Dream' that she had. But Azula knew all to well that was no dream, she was not that lucky. That dream as well as many others , had haunted her ever since she came to the south pole. They were all the same, they were all about the people that she had hurt all those years ago. She would wounder just how she was able to live with her self for all those years, knowing that she had destroyed the lives of so many. This was a feeling that the once proud Fire Bender was not familiar with at first, but as time passed Azula began to understand what she was feeling and when she did, she truly felt that their may be some hope for her yet to change. For the first time in her life, Azula was feeling guilt. But she could not dwell on that thought right now, she had to get up and get ready to start her day.

As Azula entered the kitchen of her modest home, she began to heat up a pot of tea. When she came to the south pole she had to learn how to support her self, seeing that she would be living all alone. She had to learn every thing if she were to survive on her own, from learning how to fish to learning how to give herself first aid if she was hurt. She would have to learn all these things and more if she wanted to survive living at the south pole. As she waited for the water to boil, she went into the storage room and began to look for the tea leaves that the Rock Fish had brought, just a few days ago. It was one of the few luxuries that she would receive when the ship came every 2 months. But what made this tea special to her, was the fact that the came from her uncle, Iroh. Iroh upon hearing that his niece was now going to be living at the south pole, decided that he would send a shipment of his best tea blends, as well directions on how to make a pot. It was a rocky start, but after a while she was able to make her own tea. It was a small luxury, but it made her stay all the more bearable. After a few minutes, she found the small box that held the tea leaves, " Mmmmm... Cinnamon." she sighed, as she took in the sent. It always amazed Azula that how her uncle would always know what kind of tea to send when she needed it.

About an hour later, Azula had finished her breakfast and was now dressed in a red vest and baggy, light blue pants and seeing that it was summer at the south pole, she would not need her full winter dress. " Bao! Time to go!" Azula called out. Within a few minutes, the Polar Bear Dog came out with her tail wagging. " Ready to go?" she asked her companion and friend. Bao just barked in agreement and with that, the 2 were out the door begin there daily business.

A lone carriage made its way through the dark streets of the Fire Nation Capital. Its occupant sat with a stern look on his face, as the carriage made its way to his destination. Up to 7 years ago, his mines had supplied the fire nation's war machine with an unlimited supply of ore and as a result, he had profited greatly, earning huge sums of gold. But when the war ended and Zuko became the new Fire Lord, his main source of income vanished. But thing really got worse when he was unable to find new customers to buy his ore, even though several other mine owners were able to sell their ore to the Earth Kingdom and even though he was still able to sell to the Fire Nation government, he was still forced to close down some of his mines and he was unable to regain all of the profits that he had lost. Needless to say, he was not on of Zuko's biggest fans. Thanks to some of his economic reforms, he was close to losing his mining empire. But a few days ago, another noblemen had contacted him and told him about a group that understood him and were now formulating a plan that would see that he, along with a number of other would get what they rightfully deserved.

The carriage came to the entrance of a large walled estate that was located out side of the capital. On the large metal doors, was the image of 2 dragons that were wrapped around one other and their heads facing each other. And above them, was the symbol of the Fire Nation. When he saw this, he instantly recognized as being the symbol of the _Deshi _Family. The Deshi family were one of the more prominent nobles in the Fire Nation and they had great pull in both the political arena and the military. But most of all, they were very loyal to the Nation's former leader and out spoken critics of Zuko. As they saw it, Zuko was a traitor and was allowing the Fire Nation to become weak, when it should be the most powerful military machine in the world. But all he was doing, were allowing the other weaker nations to gain an advantage over them by selling some of the technology that the fire nation had originally used to wage war. It was also clear to see that the Deshi family were not to found about Zuko either.

The driver of the carriage got out and walked up to the doors. He rang a small bell ans when he did, a small slit slid open and a mask covered face appeared on the other side. Without saying a word, the driver handed the man an envelope and said man looked it over and then back to the carriage, where he saw its passenger inside. " You may pass." the masked man said and proceeded to open the large doors to allow the carriage to pass. The driver went back to said carriage and entered the compound. A few minutes later, the carriage came up to a some what, huge mansion and from the look of things he was not the only one that had been invited to come, as there were a number of other carriages parked outside. The carriage pulled up the main entrance to the mansion and stopped. There, a young woman possibly in her mid twenties greeted them.

" Welcome to the Deshi family Estate." the woman said with a bow. " may I have your name?"

" _Lo Feng, _of the _Hao _family." the man said. "and to who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

The woman smiled, " I am _Fang, _I am the daughter of your host. I was sent to greet you and and escort you inside. My father is expecting you inside." and with that, the pretty young woman lead him inside to meet the others.

Upon reaching the main living room, Lo Feng saw 20 other persons that were there and he recognized all of them. They were all persons that had at one time profited greatly off the war in one way or the other, either by building ships for the navy, or providing the army their uniforms and armor and just like him, they had all lost out greatly when Zuko came to power and restructured the economy. He began to talk to some of the other noble men that were there and they all had a story to tell. On of them use to operate a number of iron mills that supplies the materials that were used in the construction of a number of fire navy vessels, but when the war ended the new Fire Lord canceled all of the orders that the navy had made for new ships and as a result, 75% of his income had vanished and he was forced to close down most of his mills as a result. For Lo Feng, that story was all too familiar and as it turned out, all of them has a similar tale to tell. But for some of them, it were more political loss than financial for when Ozai was imprisoned, they lost any political weight that they had and when Zuko began to surround himself with advisers that were shunned by the old regime because of their anti war views, did they soon realize that they no longer had any pull in the government.

But the one thing that really stood out to him, was the portrait of a man that was dressed in a fire navy uniform and around the portrait, were lit candles that were placed in such a way , that it looked like a shrine to the person in the portrait. Lo Feng recognized the person instantly, for the portrait was of the late _Admiral Zaho_, who was killed during the assault on the Northern Water Tribe under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly, a gong was sounded and every ones attention was turned to the top of the stair case where an old man, possibly in his late sixties stood.

" My fellow noble men, I welcome all to my humble home and I am glad that all of you made it." the old man said, " My name is _Ju Long,_ I am the head of the Deshi family and I have called all of you here because we all have one thing in common. We have all witnessed the fall of Ozai the great at the hands of the Avatar and he has been replaced with a Fire Lord that seems hell bent on destroying the greatest nation that the world has ever known!" some of the guest cheered in agreement to the old man's statement. " Thanks to this new fire lord, a number of our nation best and brightest have been sent to work for either the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes! They have been sent to serve those uncivilized, unwashed nations when they should be at home trying to rebuild our glorious nation and bring it back to its rightful place as the greatest nation in the world! He is dismantling our nation's mighty military, giving our enemies an advantage over us and it is only a matter of time before we are invaded and forced to become the slaves of those people. The Fire Lord's move for peace is a sham and a farce, and it will only leas to the fir nation destruction. And I am very certain that I speak for all of us, when I say that I will be DAMNED if we allow him to take us down this road to ruin!" there were shouts and cheers in agreement at Ju Long's statement. They all felt that if the Zuko were to continue with his plans, the Fire Nation would be destroyed and they could not let that happen.

" But... how do we go about stopping this from happening." one noble man said, " we no longer have any pull with the royal family. They are either supporters of the new fire lord, imprisoned, or insane. And even then, Zuko has the support of the avatar."

"That is where you are wrong." Ju Long said, " The avatar main job is to maintain the balance of the 4 nations. Azulon's mistake was starting the war, while it was Ozai's mistake continuing it. If they had not done this, the Avatar would not have come back and defeated Ozai. What we need is an fire lord that would only seek the best interest of the Fire Nation, but at the same time not to draw the attention of the Avatar."

" But there is the problem of getting the military on our side, " another noble man said, " Most in the military are loyal to Zuko. " thank to some of is reforms, he has manged to gain the support of a number of the top generals and admirals."

" Ah! But you forget that a number of general had gone rouge after the war and that their solders had gone rouge with them. I have already gotten into contact with some of them and they are very interested with seeing Zuko dethroned, one way or the other." Ju Long replied.

" But even so, they might not be enough to fight Zuko's army and even if they were big enough, this could still gain the attention of the Avatar."

"I have thought about that and I have an idea. Even though Zuko has the support of the military, there are still many that are willing to see the return of the old regime. But they are too afraid to speak up. They would only do so if a symbol of the old order should return."

" But there is no one from the old order left. Ozai is imprisoned and under heavy guard, we can't get him out. And even then, I doubt that any one is will to be lead by a mad man who tried to wipe out the Earth Kingdom. It would be to risky to have him loose." an old woman said she was right. Even though Ozai still had his supporters, he was still considered a monster by not only the other 2 nations, but in the Fire Nation as well and to have him return to lead a possible revolution to topple Zuko would be inviting trouble for them.

" There is still another symbol that you are forgetting about, and she was just intelligent as her father. But unlike Ozai, she would be easier to control for our intent."

The entire group were dumbfounded by Ju Long's statement. Who was he talking about? But then one of them spoke up and said... " Wait, you don't mean... her?" Ju Long just nodded.

" But she went insane at the end of the war and she's locked up at Boiling Rock" another one said.

" That is the story Zuko want's every one to think. But I know for a fact that she was given her freedom by Zuko and is now living at the south pole." he grinned, the other just looked at him as if he were crazy. " And where did you here this information?" Lo Feng, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up.

" Let's just say, I have some loyal to me still at the palace." Ju Long replied crypticly. " I also know that she receives supplies every 2 months from a freighter that dose trade with the southern water tribe."

" But is it a good idea to return her to the throne? I mean, from what I had heard, she suffered a massive mental break down."

"First of all, she is not going to be the new fire lord. Were just going to use her as a figure head to rally more support and when Zuko is gone, she will just be the puppet. We will be the ones calling the shots." He said simply. "

" But what about the Avatar? Wouldn't he be a bit concerned that Azula was the new fire lord?"

" He would only be concerned if she begins to act like Ozai, but since she would only be our puppet, we'll make sure that she does not. All we are doing is returning the Fire Nation to its rightful place as the greatest nation in the world. Nothing more."

The group allowed the man's words to sink in. what he was proposing boarded on treason and if the wrong persons were to find out what they were planing, they would all be facing the death penalty. But as far as all of them were concerned, they were saving the Fire Nation from destruction and it was worth the risk. They all agreed to go with Ju Long's plan.

" But what do you want of us?" another woman asked. Ju Long just sighed and said, " The reason that I had called all of you here, was because all of you represent the industrial might of the Fire Nation. Do to what I plan, were are going to need a lot of support. Were going to need equipment, ships but most of all, were going to need money fund our plans. And I am very certain that with your help, we can do this."

" But how do we get Azula on our side?" Lo Feng asked, " I mean, who will be heading to the south pole to talk to her?"

" Let me worry about that. But now, I ask all of you to head back to your homes. It is getting late and I am sure that your families are wondering why you have not returned home yet. I will send for you when I return from my trip. Until then, I bid you a good night. " and with that, he went back up stairs leaving every one in the living room to think about what he had planed for the Fire Nation.

Lo Feng went back to his carriage and told the driver to take him home, all the while thinking about what the old man had just said. One one hand he was being asked to aid in the removal of Zuko and he along with some others would rule the Fire Nation. But then again, he was being asked to aid in an act of treason, that if he would to be caught, her would be tried and sent to prison for a very long time and that was if he was lucky. But the idea of returning the Fire Nation to its former glory and being apart of that movement out weighed the risks of being involved in such a thing. But right now he was to tired to think about that. Right now, Lo Feng's main concern was to get back home and to his wife and family.


	4. The Next Step

_**Chapter 3: The Next Step.**_

_Ju Long Deshi, _sat in his private study of his family's mansion. Just a few hours ago, the sixty-something year old Fire Nation nobleman had just had a meeting with the other members of the Fire Nation nobility, where he proposed a plan that would not only see the removal of Zuko, but also the instillation of a Fire Lord that they could use to enforce their vision of what the Fire Nation should be. And from the reaction he got from the group, he was very certain that they would support this move. He knew that by inviting members of the Fire Nation nobility that had suffered adversely because of Zuko's economic reforms and military budget cuts, that he would of more than likely gain their support. For them, it was less about getting a new Fire Lord and more about filling their greedy little pockets and he knew this. But for Ju Long, it was more about Removing Zuko and replacing him with a Fire Lord that would not only return the the nation that he loved to its former glory, but to place one that would return his family to its rightful place as the most prominent families in the Fire Nation.

For over a hundred years, the royal family and the Deshi family had a very close relationship and as a result, they had become THEE most prominent families in the Fire Nation. Some of them had even managed to marry into the Royal Family, raising there status within the nobility of the Fire Nation. As a matter a fact, one of them had married the crowned prince and had given birth to a son that would have eventually become the next Fire Lord, but alas, that did not come to be for he was killed during his father's legendary 600 day siege of _Ba Sing Se, _and if _Lu Ten _was not killed and had become the Fire Lord, then the Deshi family's place as the most powerful family in the Fire Nation would have been secured. But his death did not deter the rest of the family from making names for themselves. Even though the Deshi family was very wealthy because of their close ties with the royal family and as a result, were given contracts to do jobs for the government, some of them had either become advisers to the royal family, like he did. Or they had gone into the military to become heroes, like his little brother did. But sadly, his brother never became the hero that he wanted to be. For he was killed rather mysteriously during the siege oat the north pole. And what was worse, the late admiral was blamed for the failed invasion.

But Zaho's short coming at the north pole did not mar the reputation of the family, Ju Long saw to that by saying that his brother died a hero for the glory of the Fire Nation and he had even convinced Ozai to still give his fallen brother a hero's funeral. Even though his body was never recovered, or located for that matter. For the remainder of the war, Ju Long advised Ozai on a number of matters that were in the interest of the Fire Nation. Ozai was so greatful foer his adviser's input, that he promised to give him a large piece of land to rule over when the war ended and the Earth Kingdom was no more. But that was not to be, for when Ozai was defeated and Zuko ended the war, any promises made by Ozai was now null and void. But what made matters worse for Ju long, Zuko fired all of Ozai's advisers and surrounded himself with advisers that were not only loyal to him, but were themselves excluded from Ozai's inner circle because of their negative views of the war. At first, Zuko had asked Ju Long to stay on, seeing that his many years of as his father's head adviser would be welcomed and Ju Long agreed to stay on. But as time passed, he became wary about some of the new Fire Lord's decisions and it was not long until things came to ahead and in the end, Zuko fired Ju Long. As a result, the family began to lose its prominent status in the Nobility and it was all down hill from there.

Within 7 years of Zuko becoming Fire Lord, the Deshi family began to lose its power and wealth because of Zuko's reforms, a number of mines that were originally operated and maintained by the family for decades, were given to groups in the Earth Kingdom to run. Seeing that the contracts given would encourage investment in the 'New' Fire Nation from outside. This meant that they no longer had majority control of the mining industry in the fire nation. To most, this was a step in the right direction when it came to revamping the economy. But to some, including Ju Long, it was sure sign that the Fire Lord was willing to sell out his nation to aid the enemies of his Glorious Fire Nation. To add to this insult, since he no longer was the head adviser to the Fire Lord, all the privileges that had came with that title vanished almost over night. Tax immunities, access to the royal family's numerous estates, personal protection and more , were all gone. And in a society where privilege was a sign of prominence, the family fell hard. The only sign that was left of the family's former power was the lone estate that was located outside the capital.

But that did not mean that the family still did not have its influence. Ju Long managed to use his contacts that were still in the palace to his own advantage. Using the info that he gained from his contacts, he was able to gain first hand knowledge about some of Zuko's economic reforms and policies well before it was made public. His plan was to use this information to his advantage and use it to discredit Zuko. But as time passed and the success of these reforms became evident, it looked like Ju Long's plan would go up in smoke. But then, he got an piece of information that made him think up a plan that would see the Fire Nation, _(and the Deshi Family)_ return to it rightful place of prominence. A couple years ago, one of his contacts told him that Zuko had sent out for the Avatar, his wife, a person only as " _The Mechanist" _as well as a number of his old crew that had served him during his time in exile. Interested by these events, Ju Long began to dig deeper and figure out what Zuko was up to. He began to expand his 'Spy Network' as it were to find out what Zuko had planned... and it was not cheep. But after 1 year , he finally found out Zuko planned and to say he was stunned would be an gross understatement.

Zuko planed to have his sister freed and sent to live out her life at an unknown location at the South Pole. It surprised Ju Long very much that Zuko would allow his sister, the one that had tried to kill him and the Avatar. The person that had gone insane when she was defeated. The person that was the most loyal to Ozai, to go free. It was common knowledge that Azula was locked up at Boiling Rock, but from what he had learned, Zuko wanted to make sure that every one still thought that she was still there. Which meant that Zuko did not want her to be found. But by the sprits, Ju Long was going to find out where she was going to live. Though he was able to find out the name of the of the vessel that would transfer Azula to the south pole and learn that it made covert supply runs to her when it traveled to do trade with the water tribes, he still did not have an exact location for her. But that would soon change. A couple month ago, before the Rock Fish made another run to the south pole, Ju Long manged to pay off one of the crew men so that when he returned from the trip, he would provide charts that would show the location of Azula and when he got them, Ju Long would travel to the South Pole himself, and convince Azula to come back with him to the Fire Nation and lead the movement that would ultimately topple Zuko. Knowing what type of person was, he was confident that Azula would more than readily come back and take the throne. Thinking that it was the will of the people that wanted her back. And Ju Long was not about to spoil that illusion for her, Azula did not have to know that she was only a pawn in his plan.

All he could do right now, was turn in for the night. He had to be on the dock in time to meet his contact and when he did, he would be one step closer to his dream of a 'Greater' Fire Nation.

Azula, along with Bao returned home to there home just after sunset. The 2 had had just spent the day on the water fishing. Another thing that Azula had to learn, was to be able to sustain her self, both food wise and financially. It was the Water Tribe's idea for Azula to be able to do both of these thing own her own, seeing that the general goal for Azula's was for her to be able to support her self. This was not just apart of her rehabilitation treatment, but it was for her own survival. Seeing that during the winter months, the sea would become frozen and impassible. Meaning that the Rock Fish would be unable to resupply her. The task of teaching her how to fish, fell to the members of the Southern Water Tribe. They taught her every thing, from spearfishing, to casting nets, they even told her to only catch fish of a certain size so that there would always be a healthy fish supply. The financial part of her rehabilitation would come tomorrow. Sooner or later, Azula would have to be reintroduced in to society because it was determined that her being isolated was not in her best interest. Besides, from what the healers had told in their report to Zuko, Azula was lonely. She needed to be in the company of people and interact with them. So it was also decided that every couple weeks, Azula under a assumed name and in the company of at least one of her healers, would actually visit a near by Water Tribe Village. The plan was for her to interact with some of the villagers, as well as, earn some money by selling the fish that she caught.

The hope was that if things went well and she was successfully rehabilitated , Azula would move from her isolated bay and into the village where she would have a new identity and possibly, a new life. It was a long shot at best, but she would have her second chance and since the world thought that she was locked up in prison, no one would suspect that she was living a new life at the south pole.

As Azula entered her home, she started a small fire to warm her body. After this, she placed her day's catch in storage for sale tomorrow in the village. The first time she went to the village, Azula could not help but to feel a bit uneasy for it was the first time in almost 10 years that the former princess had out and about with other people. Her 5 year stint at the Boiling Rock, coupled with her living alone for almost 3 years, had left her lacking any social skills and she felt rather awkward when it came time to interact with some of the villagers. But there was something else that bothered her greatly, it was a feeling that Azlua had not felt since the day she was taken from Boiling Rock... It was fear. She feared that she would do something that would reveal her true identity to the villagers and even though she knew that the Water Tribes were generally peaceful, she feared that if they were to found out who she really was, they would take out their revenge on her for what the Fire Nation had done to their people during the war. There was still strong Anti-Fire Nation sentiment at the South Pole and Azula had seen this first hand when she visited a time and there was a massive rally held by a group of tribesmen who had either lost love ones or had been P.O.W.s during the war and had been torchered at the hands of their captures.

Azula was shaken by what she heard that day. The stories that these people told sent chills up her spine and even she began to hate the own nation. "_The Fire Nation is nothing but a nation of blood thirsty, demonic creatures that thrives on the suffering of others and we are living proof of that!"_ she heard one woman say. Azula could have gone up to them and defended her nation and tell every one that it was the actions of her father and grand father that were the cause of there pain and not the Fire Nation in general, but that would only expose not only who she was, but it would also give them a prime target to vent out their rage. Azula had to do every thing in her power to prevent herself from blowing her cover. But other than that, the trip had gone very well and tomorrow, she was going to be heading back to said village where she was going to continue her rehabilitation back into society.

Azula then went into her bedroom and began to get her outfit ready, for her trip tomorrow. She would be wearing a light blue anorak and trousers, but since it was summer, the anorak would not be a thick as it would be for the winter months. She folded her clothes and placed them on her dresser for the next day. She then went into the storage room , where she dug into one of the crates and pulled out a few Komodo sausages to cook for dinner. She did not feel for fish tonight. As she sat there eating, Azula felt something brush up against her leg and when she looked, she saw Bao looking back up at her with a pleading look...

"No" Azula told her companion, " Go eat your fish heads." Bao just whimpered a bit

"No!" she said again, a bit forcefully. More whimpering.

" Fine, here you go!" Azula said defeated, as she placed one of the sausages on the floor for her friend. Bao for he part wagged her tail happily and began to munch down her latest conquest. Azula just shook her head, 'how does she mange to do that?' she wondered. Some how , Bao always managed to get food from Azula. About half an hour later, Azula finished eating and got ready for bed. She made made sure that Bao had done her business before letting her back into the house. Azula did not want to spend the morning cleaning up after her. After that was done, Azula changed her clothes and went to bed for tomorrow, she was going to continue her rehabilitation back into society.

The sun had not even come up as yet as the Rock Fish pulled along side the dock, in the Fire Nation capital. On the wharf a number of carts were lined up, awaiting to receive the shipment of fresh fish from the south pole. Ever since the Fire Nation opened up trading relations with the south pole, various species of fish from that area had become very popular delicacies if the Fire Nation and as a result, the economy of both the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation had benefited. As the vessel began to off load its cargo, some of it's crew members began to leave the ship and head home. Seeing that their duties on board ship had ended. As the men began to leave the docks, one of them went in the opposite direction as the other men and ducked into an near by alley way. The alley way was narrow and not very well lit. Barrels filled with garbage lined the side walls, as a few rats ran and hide from the man as he walked passed him. Finally, the man came up to carriage that was parked at the other end of the alley, but the way that it was parked ensured that no one would see him as he came up to the side window. As he did, the door opened and he stepped inside where he was greeted by a man that had a mask on hid his eyes and upper facial features...

" Do you have them?" the masked man said with a deep voice. " They are right here." the other man replied, taking out some rolls of paper. " Every thing is here."

" Very good. Are you sure that no one would miss them?"

"Yes , these are copies. The originals are sill on board the ship, no one would ever know." the man said proudly.

" Thank you," the masked man said, as he took out a 2 brown bags and handed it to him, " You have done your duty and just as we promised, here is your payment." he tossed the bags to him.

" Thank you." the man said, as he held up the bags, enjoying the fact that they were quite heavy.

" Remember, no one is to know what you have done. This is for the benefit of the Fire Nation." The masked man side.

" I did not do any thing, did I?" the man said with a smile. The masked man smiled in return." I am glad that you understand where we are coming from."

The other man nodded as he exited the carriage and went on his way. The masked man just sat in the carriage and unrolled the paper. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he rolled them up again and placed them on the seat next to him and ordered the driver to take them back to the estate.

His employer would be very pleased with this new piece of information indeed and phase 2 of his plan would soon begin...


	5. What I Want

_**Chapter 4: What I Want.**_

Azula did not know where she was or how she got there. The world around her was black as she drifted through it. Thee was no up or down, left or right, there was only darkness... " Hello..?" Azula called out, " Is there any one there...?"

'_Is this what you want?' _deep voice said in the darkness. "_Is this the life you really want, or is this the life your brother want's you to have?"_

"I don't under stand, who are you and why have you brought me here?" she said a bit fearfully. All of a sudden, a large red dragon came out of no where and coiled itself just underneath her feet and met face to face. The sight of there large creature left the normally confident Azula speechless, as it bent down and looked directly at her...

"_Are you really quite content with the idea of spending the rest of your life in this frozen waste land, or are you just going to allow your brother to keep you here far away from him?'_

"What do you mean? He's allowing me to start a new life! This is what I want!" Azula yelled back, the dragon just stared at her.

_' If he did in fact, "freed" you... then why did he have you moved to the south pole, far away from the Fire Nation? Why didn't he build you a home on Ember Island?' _

"I... I don't know... But he could have just left me in my prison cell. But he did not."

' _You still have not answered my question, why did he send you to live at the south pole rather than back in the Fire Nation?' _

_' Isn't it obvious,'_ a second voice called out from the darkness. Then all of a sudden, another dragon, this one blue in color came out and joined the red dragon. _' Zuko is ashamed and frightened of her. She is a demon in his eyes and will always be one no matter what she does.'_

" THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Azula shot back " he did this because he felt that I had been punished enough!"

_' that's not true, he sent you here so that you would no longer pose a threat to him!'_ the red dragon said.

_'You are a disgrace to the royal family and because of your pass action, he sent you here to die all alone! YOU ARE A MONSTER'_ the blue dragon added.

"STOP IT! THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Azula screamed. Holding her head as if she were in pain.

'_Disgrace to the Fire Nation'_

_'Monster...'_

" SHUP UP! SHUT UP! **SHUT UP!**" Azula screamed as the 2 dragons slowly advance on her...

Azula once again found herself in the bedroom of her modest home. Once again her body was covered in a cold sweat and her heart was beating so fast she thought that it would explode. She looked around her room, expecting to see her 2 tormentors, but all she found was Bao sleeping beside her bed. It did not take Azula long to realize that she had dreamed the whole event, but even though it was all in her mind, Azula could not help but to wonder if what the dragons had said were true. What if the only reason that her brother sent her to the south pole to live, was so that she would not pose a threat to him and his family? What if he had only sent her here to die all all alone? Even though Azula was grateful for her freedom, she would some times wonder if there were another motive for him sending her to the south pole. But she would soon remember what she had done in the past, Azula had long concluded that she had done some horrific crimes in the past and that every one that knew her had every right to call her a monster. But she also concluded that it was her father fault for the way that she turned out and that it was his fault that she was now all alone. But most importantly, she realized hat she was truly was sorry for what she had done and that she would have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life.

Azula knew very well that she would have to answer for her actions when she met her maker, but until then, she would allow her future actions reflect on the person that she wanted to be and not on the person that she had once been. At least that was one of her healers had told her on time during one of their many sessions any way. With that thought in mind, Azula got out of her bed and began to get ready for her twice monthly trip in to the Water Tribe village, where she would continue with her rehabilitation. After going through her daily morning rituals of making breakfast and cleaning up, Azula now dressed in a light blue anorak ant trousers , stood on the pier awaiting her transport into the village.

She did not have to wait long, for the 2 ice bergs that hide her bay began to part and a small Water Tribe sailing vessel came through the small passage way. The small water craft glided its way up to the pier where the 2 occupants then proceeded to tie the craft along side it. Azula greeted them as they came off the boat. The first one was a man that was 5'8" in height and had a gentle look to him. The second person was a woman that was slightly older than the man and stood at only 5'3". Azula knew them as _Kenga ( the man) and Morra(the woman). _They were the 2 water benders that were tasked with the jog of healing Azula, physically and most importantly... mentally. The 2 benders were originally from the north pole and had moved to the south pole to aid in its reconstruction. But a few years ago, they were contacted by the wife of the Avatar, Katara to under take the task or rehabilitating the former princess. At first, they did not want to help, seeing that Azula was not one of the world's favorite persons as well as being known as a monster. But when they met her for the first time, they could see that she was not the demon or monster that the world generally knew her to be. In fact, from what they saw, Azula was a broken person full of guilt and remorse. But another thing that they could tell from just talking to her, was that she was just another victim of _"Ozai the Disgraced"_ and she needed help in dealing with all of the mental damage that had been done to her.

It was then that the 2 water benders decided to help the poor woman that had been sent to the south pole to live out the rest of her days and over time, they had developed a healthy relationship with her and by extension, became her first friends in a really long time.

" Good morning, Azula!" Kenga called out, " and good morning to you too, Bao!" the polar bear dog barked in response.

" Good morning Kenga, Morra." Azula replied. "I am glad to see that you made it safely."

" It is good to see that you are well, as well." Morra replied. " Are you ready to head into the village?"

" Very much so, and I have my fish ready for sale." Aaula said, motioning to the 3 barrels of fish that was next to her.

" Well then, we should really get going, we have a long trip ahead of us." Kenga replied. The other 2 women agreed and then proceeded to load the barrels on to the vessel. About an half an hour later, the sailing vessel had left the bay and was now headed to the water tribe village to continue Azula's rehabilitation.

The the small water craft glided its way through the water, Azula sat quietly as she watched the south pole shore line sail by. But as she sat there, Azula could not help but to think about the dream that she had last night. She could not help but to wonder if what those 2 dragons had said were true, what if Zuko really was afraid of her? What if the only reason he sent her to the south pole, was to punish her for all the crimes that she had done? Did she really like her new found freedom, or was it just a ploy to get her to forget her life as a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family? She was so lost in thought that she did not even realize that they had arrived at the village.

The village itself was more like a small town, as there were a number of structures that were made out of snow and ice there and it was all enclosed by a large wall that extended into the water and enclosed the small fishing port. From what Azula had learned about said village, at one time the village itself was a thriving city that because of its vast supply of fish, it had become very wealthy and could have easily rival any other at the north pole or even the Earth Kingdom. But that soon changed when the war broke out and after a century of raid by the Fire Nation, the once thriving metropolis was reduced to nothing more that a group of small huts. But with the war's end and with the trading relations that now existed with both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, coupled with the aid that it was now getting from the north pole, the village was now becoming alive once again. But it still had a long way to go before it could return to its former glory.

"And we've arrived!" Kenga announced, Azula looked up and realized that indeed, they were at the village. As soon as they pulled up and were secured to the dock, Kenga began off loading the barrels while Morra went with Azula to set up her stand to sell her fish.

" Azula," Morra said in a concerned voice, " You have been rather quiet. Is there something wrong?" Azula , knowing that she could not hide anything from her healer just sighed and said... " It's... well... last night, I had the dream again."

" Which one?" Morra asked.

" The one with the 2 dragons." She said with her head down. " They told me the same thing that they have every time. That I am a monster, that my brother is ashamed and frightened of me. That I am a disgrace to the Royal Family. "

"And do you believe them? Do you believe that you truly are what they say you are?" Morra asked.

" No, I don't. It's just that... well... I know that I want to change and that my brother could have killed me when he had the chance but he did not. I know that I am very sorry for what I had done in the pass, but I can't get rid of the guilt. Why can't I?"

" Because you are truly sorry for what you did. Because you really want to change your self for the better, and that you are not a monster. You were just a victim of the madness that destroyed your father and it almost destroyed you too." Morra said.

" But what if I can not change? Azula asked fearfully. But Morra just said, " the only person that is preventing you from changing yourself... is yourself! But from what I can tell, you are doing a lousy job at that. You have certainly shown that you really want a second chance at life!" she smiled. Azula could only let what her friend had said sink in and smiled as well.

" Tell you what, before you head back home, there is something that I think you would like to see."

" What is it?"

" It's a surprise, but I will say that after you see it, you will never think that way again." Morra said. Although Azula was curious about what the surprise may be, she just decided to wait and see what is was. Right now though, her main concern was to get ready for today' s sales and get her stand ready to open.

Just a few meters from the port, was the village's main market. Settled near the village square, the market was where persons would go either to buy or sell goods. At first, the market only sold fish and other fishing related goods. But in recent years , goods from the other 2 nations had found its way to the south pole and as a result, the market we one of the largest in the south pole and it was not uncommon to see tribesmen from the other villages buying good here as well. For the village, the market was its means to rebuild its shattered economy. But for Azula, it would be her means to rebuild her shattered life. Azula first came to the market 1 year ago to sell her fish, she was a bit hesitant at first to interact with any of the villagers. But over time, she was able to over come her fear and shyness and had become a familiar face at the market. But to villagers that saw her, Azula... was not Azula. You see, if any one were to find out who she really was, it would not take long for the news of her existence to reach the Fire Nation and Zuko would have some very hard questions to answer. Not to mention, Azula's life would be in danger considering that she still had enemies.

So when it came time to give her a new name, Azula decided to name herself after the one person that had showed her the most compassion and mercy. Any time some one would ask what her name was, she would say... "_My name is Zura"_ and as far as any one was concerned, 'Zura' was a fisher woman that lived in another village far from there. That was all they needed to know and nothing more. As the day progressed and more people began to flow into the market, Zura/Azula began to interact with some of her customers. All under the watchful eyes of her 2 healers that were helping her with the day sales. By mid day, Azula had sold all of her fish and had a large amount of copper pieces to show for her effort and since she would not have to head back home later in the evening, she along with Kenga and Morra would spend the rest of the day exploring the market and village and now that she had some spending money, Azula decided to get some things for herself.

Coming down to the end of the day, she bought a new pair of snow boots as well as some Blubber Jerky for herself. For some reason, she had developed a fondness for the food and she did not know why.

" Well, what was the surprise that you wanted to show me?" Azula asked , as she and Morra walked to the edge of the village.

" You will see." she replied to the former princess. A few minutes later, they came over a hill and were now over looking what looked to be, a small mansion that was in the final stages of construction.

"W...What is it?" Azula asked. "It is your new home." Morra replied

"My new home?" Azula questioned, Morra nodded. " Well, after a bit of discussion with your brother and with the progress that you have made over the years, it was decided that you would move from your current location and into the village so that you could have a normal life."

To say that Azula was stunned by this statement would be a gross understatement. " Really?"

"Yes, really!" She smiled. " But, are you sure that I am ready to live at the village?" Azula asked.

" Yes, I am very sure that you are ready. Believe it or not, you have come a very long way from that timid, shy woman that I met all those years ago. You have shown that you could get along with others as well as provide for your self. But you will not be able to to move for another 2 months, seeing that your home is not yet completed as well as, there are some other things that have to be done to see that you could settle in . But you should be living here before winter begins." the healer replied.

Then, Azula did something that was completely out of character. Azula proceeded to wrap her arms around Morra and gave her a tight hug. " Thank you!" the former princess cried, "Thank you!"

All Morra could do, was smile and hug Azula back. Glad to see that her young charge was so happy. After they separated, they began to walk back and meet up with Kenga so that they could take her back home. But as they walked, Azula once again began to think about her dream and what the Red Dragon had asked her... _'Is this what you want?'. _But after what Morra had told her, coupled with the fact that she really did enjoyed her new found life and freedom, Azula could now honestly say...

"_Yes. This is what I really want..."_


	6. Agreement at the Fountain

_**Chapter 5: Agreement at the Fountain.**_

Located on one of the islands in the eastern Fire Nation, was the city of _North Chung-Ling.(Formally Known as "Fire Fountain City "). _At one time, the city was one of many towns in the Fire Nation that had supported the war effort as there were many factories that were located in the city. Making it one of the nation's more industrialized towns. But because of this, the city began to develop a reputation as being one of the more polluted towns in the Fire Nation. That coupled with the fact that the city had also become a haven for some very seedy elements over the years, gave the town a negative image and even the towns people would generally stay indoors and only came out when they deemed it necessary. But that soon all changed when Ozai was toppled and Zuko was named Fire Lord. With the war's end and with Zuko's planned scaling back of the military, there was a fear that the city's main source of income would vanish when he closed down the many factories in the city. Every one feared the worse, when it was announced that the Fire Lord had canceled all of the orders were made by Ozai. But all those fears were put to rest, as soon as some of Zuko's policies came into effect.

Although a number of factories were closed down, they only did so so that they could be moved to an area that was further away from the main population. Another thing that he did, was to set up and enforce laws that would see that the factory workers would not only get a better payment, but also see to that their working environment was safe and hazard free. But the real big change came when Zuko announced that the industrial capability of the city would shift from supporting the military, to constructing new merchant vessels and farming equipment for not only the Fire Nation, but also for sale to the other nations of the world to help rebuild their countries. These projects, coupled with an operation that saw the seedy elements of the town driven off, ensured that North Chung-Ling became one of the many success stories that came out of Zuko's rule. But the most prominent symbol that showed that the city was truly reborn, was the rather modest statue of Fire Lord Zuko that was now located where the fire breathing statue of Ozai once stood. The old statue was melted down and used to make latrines for the towns folk to use. It was erected by the citizens of North Chung-Ling on the 5 anniversary of Zuko's rise to the throne. It was their way of thanking the Fire Lord for saving their city and making one of the Fire Nation's more wealthy cities.

Today, North Chung-Ling was a thriving city, the citizens were now free to roam the streets without any fear of being robbed and what not. The ship yards were alive with activity, with new merchant vessels being constructed and the factories were now cranking out modified versions of the army's tanks that were now being used for farming and even construction. In all, the once shady city was fast becoming an economic power house in the region and a symbol of the new Fire Nation that Zuko wanted to see happen. But in the eyes of Ju Long, it was another sign that the Fire Nation was headed , in his opinion, the wrong direction.

A couple days ago, Ju Long arrived in the city with the intent of getting to the south pole and to the one person that could get his plan of deposing Zuko off the ground. The former princess of the Fire Nation, Azula. One day after his meeting with some Fire Nation nobles, his contact on board the _Rock_ _Fish , _had managed to gain access and give exact copies of the maps and charts used by the navigator to locate Azula. It was not cheap, but if his plan worked out, the benefits would out weigh the costs greatly. He was now in the city awaiting his transportation to the south pole. Not to long ago, Ju Long had managed to get into contact with a former Fire Nation captain, that along with his crew and ship, had gone rouge at the end of the war. Just like him, the captain was a devout Ozai loyalist and was not to thrilled about Zuko becoming Fire Lord. Ju Long had managed to get into contact with him via one of the many rouge generals that he had contacts with and learned to said captain had an hide out near the city. He was now in the city to try and convince the captain to transport him to the south pole and there was no doubt in his mind that when the captain found out why he was going, the would want to help him.

Ju Long checked himself in to one of the guest homes that were in the city. He knew once the captain had found out that he was in the city, he would send one of his crew men to collect the former adviser and take him to their hide out. He did not have to wait long, for on his second night in the city he was awoken by some one knocking on his guest room's door and when he opened it, he was met by a man that looked like he had just walked off the streets.

" Ju Long?" the lanky man asked. Ju Long nodded, " I am here to take you to meet the captain. He has been expecting you."

" Well, it took him long enough to contact me." Ju Long said in an annoyed tone, as he went back into his room and changed his clothes. About fifteen minutes later, Ju Long, along with a man in a mask climbed into the carriage that was sent for them. In side the carriage, they were met by the same lanky man which was now clear to see that he was one of the rouge crew men.

All through the the trip, the 3 men rode in silence. The lanky man casting the occasional glance at the masked man, who he now began to think was Ju Long's personal body guard. The masked man in question wore a metal mask that hid the top part of his face and a oriental style hat. He was dressed in a brown robe that covered his entire body, but one could easily tell that he was very muscular indeed. A couple hours later, they arrived at a cave that was located on the coast line . The 3 men exited the carriage and proceeded to enter the large cave, with the lanky man in the lead. The cave itself was quite large indeed and with the exception of the lamp that was being carried by the crew man, it was completely dark. But in the distance, they saw an amber glow and as they got closer to it, the amber glow soon reveled the shape of a large Fire Nation Navy vessel that was tied up along side of the cave wall. Amazingly, the cave natural link to the sea and size, made it the perfect hiding place of the rouge fire navy captain, his crew and their vessel.

" Captain Hue is waiting for you on board." the crew man said, as he gestured to the 2 men to walk up the gang plank. Ju Long just nodded and made his way up, his 'companion' in tow.

Upon reaching the top, they were met by a rather large man dressed in a Fire Navy admiral uniform. His face was wrinkled and his long gray hair was lose and flowed freely behind him. This was the image of Captain _Hue. _Hue was once one of the Fire Navy's most decorated captains and had taken part in a number of operations during the war. He was a very capable commander and he was well on his way to becoming the Navy's newest admirals. But that never came to be when Ozai was defeated and Zuko took over. Instead of becoming the navy's newest fleet officer, he became the Fire Nation's newest criminal and a warrant for his arrest in connection with the massacre of 700 Earth Kingdom civilians during an operation in the western Earth Kingdom. Obviously, Hue did not take to kindly to this new development and along with his ship and crew, had gone into hiding. But that did not mean that he was quiet all this time. Hue, along with his rouge crew had launched a number of raids on coastal towns, both in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. Taking everything, from gold to food and even taking prisoners and holding them for ransom. It was very clear to see that the once proud Fire Navy captain, had become nothing more than a pirate and was one of the most wanted men in the world.

" Ju Long, welcome on board the _Fire Dragon. _My informants in the city had told me that you were in town." Hue said, as he walked towards them, " and what brings you to Fire Fountain City?"

" It's no longer called that anymore, captain." Ju Long replied. " To me, it will always be Fire Fountain. But you have not answered my question, what brings you here?" Hue replied.

" Well my dear captain, I have fallen into some information that I think you might be interested in. What do you know about Princess Azula?" The noble asked. Hue just gave him an puzzled look.

"You mock my intelligence, Long. Her royal highness went mad at the end of the war and she is currently wasting away at the Boiling Rock. That is common knowledge." Hue said, as he was looking over the side of his ship.

" Ah! But what if I told you that for the last 3 years, her highness was actually living at the south pole with the blessing of both Zuko and the Southern Water Tribes?"

" What do you mean by that?"

" Well, one of my contacts I the palace told of of an operation that Zuko under took a few years ago that saw Azula being freed and sent to the south pole to live." Ju Long said.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Hue asked, now suddenly interested by the news.

" Well, I along with a number of other nobles in the Fire Nation are not to thrilled with the current Fire Lord. But I have devised a plan that would see to it that Zuko is deposed and Azula is crowned Fire Lord."

" Your plan is to over throw Zuko and have a madwoman take his place and run the country?" Hue asked in a cynical tone.

" Not quite. You see, my plan is to only have her as a figure head. We would actually be calling all the shots." Ju Long said as a matter of fact.

" But wouldn't that alert the Avatar?" Hue said, " If Azula were to come back, would he try to remove her and return Zuko to power?"

" All these questions. Look, the only way that the Avatar would interfere, is if Azula makes any move that would threaten the other 2 nations. But what we plan is not to start another war, but to return the Fire Nation to its rightful place as the world's greatest civilization."

" So I ask again, what does this have to do with me?" the captain asked.

" Well, another one of my contacts had managed to copy down the charts and maps that show the exact location where Azula is being held." and with that, the masked man produced said map and charts from his robe and handed it to Ju Long. " What I want from you, is transportation to the south pole so that I could tell Azula that the people want her back and that she would be the next Fire Lord. She does not need to know our true intent. With Azula, we would be able to rally more support from the military and topple Zuko."

Hue took one of the maps and looked it over and after examining it for a couple minutes, he rolled it back up and said. "How do you know that these charts are not fake?" Ju Long scowled, "Has any one ever told you that you ask too many questions? But trust me, for what I paid for them, they are quite real and if they are fake... then my associate here would make sure that I get my money back." he said, gesturing to the masked man next to him.

" What you are asking of me, is to risk a 3 week long trip to the south pole, in waters swarming with Fire Navy patrols looking for us, in an attempt to contact an insane princess so that you could over throw the Fire Lord and take control of the Fire Nation. All the while, ensuring that the Avatar does not interfere. Am I right?" Hue asked cynically.

" That is the basic idea." Ju Long simply said. " But I assure you, this plan will work and when it does, you, your men and ever other Fire Nation solder that had been wrongly criminalized by Zuko would be able to return home and be seen as heroes."

Hue allowed what the noble man had said to sink in. This have had to be the most hair brained ideas that the former Navy captain had ever heard. He was being asked to risk the safety of his crew to follow a lead that might be fake, to find an insane princess, so that she could be used as a puppet so that a group of nobles could run the country. Most men in his position would only think of Ju Long's plan as madness and tell him so. But Hue was not most men, he was wanted murder and was on the run. He had nothing to loose and the prospect of being able to return home and finally be seen as a hero was too good to pass up and he knew that his men would love nothing more than to stop running and be able to go home and be with their families. He took a deep breath and said... " Alright, you will have my help. But we won't be able to set sail until tomorrow night. We will need to get supplies for such a long voyage and it won't be cheap."

Ju Long just nodded, " I under stand and don't worry about your supply cost." and with that, the masked man produced 4 large bags of gold from under his robe and tossed them at the captain's feet. " This should be enough to buy what you need."

" Another thing, I will only be taking a skeleton crew with us. I do not want to risk the lives of all my men for this." Hue said. One thing about him that made his crew so loyal, was the fact that he really did care about them and would make sure that they were well taken care of.

" Only take those who are important to this mission. We don't need more people than we need." Ju Long replied. " Just one thing, I have a couple creates sitting on the port in town. They are vital to this mission, so I ask that your men be very careful when they collect them."

Hue, a bit puzzled said, " and what do these crates contain?" But Ju Long only said, " Let us just say, they are very important and without them, the mission would fail." The captain just nodded.

" You have a deal. My ship and my crew are now at your disposal. We will be ready to sail by tomorrow night. Until then, crewman Gai would see you back to your guest home." Hue said gesturing to the same lanky man that had brought them to meet him. The 2 men said their good byes and Ju Long and company left the cave and began their long trip back to North Chung-Ling.

As they made their way back to the city, both Ju Long and his companion were both lost in deep thought. For Ju Long, his thoughts were on how successful his meeting had gone with the rouge captain and he was now very confident that his plans would succeed. All he would have to worry about now, were the crew men that would be sent to collect the creates, damaging the contents inside. He was one step closer to his vision of the Greater Fire Nation that he so much wanted to see happen and there was nothing that he could see, that could prevent his plan from coming in to be.

But for his traveling companion, his thoughts were less about toppling the Fire Lord and were more of a personal matter. He could care less about what Ju Long's goal was and did not care that what he plan would derail Ju Long's. His plans were more of a personal nature and would see to it that the person that was responsible for his banishment from home and the destruction of his team would pay dearly for what she had done, for what she had made him do and he was not about to let this foolish old man get in his way. There was only one thing on his mind as the carriage made its way into the city...

_Revenge..._


	7. Healing at Home

_**Chapter 6: Healing at Home**_

Once again, Azula found herself on board the water tribe sailing ship that was used by her healers and once again, she was on her way to the water tribe village where she would sell her fish. But this time, Azula was not going to spend her day at the market, even though it had been 2 weeks since she had been to town. Instead, Azula would be going into town to spend the day with one of her healers and her family. Azula was going to spend the day with Morra. The last time Azula had gone to town, Morra had asked Azula if she would like to spend the day with her family. Azula agreed to this and said that she would not mind at all and said that she would love to get to know her friend better. As she sat at the front of the ship, Azula wondered what type of people Morra's family were like. She knew that both Morra and Kenga were from the north pole and had originally moved to the south pole, to aid in the reconstruction of the Southern Water Tribes. She also knew that Morra was in fact married and had 3 childern, but other than that, she did not know anything else. She soon began to fell the same sense of dread that she got when she would go into town. But it was not the fear of being found out that bothered her, it was the idea of meeting new people that really bothered her. Even though Azula was able to work through her shyness around others, she still felt an anxiety when she came in to contact with others and Azula still had a long way to go before she would be able to shake off that feeling. She only hoped that Morra's family were just like her and if they were, then she would be able to relax a little more.

As the vessel entered the walled port, she noticed that there were a number of vessels from both the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water tribe anchored inside. Maybe one day, the stigma of the Fire Nation would fade and there would be Fire Nation merchant vessels anchored here as well. She could only hope. The sailing ship eased its way up, along side the pier and Kenga proceeded to tie the craft. When this was done, Morra helped Azula off the ship and the made their way off the pier. At the end of the pier, Azulas saw a rather large man standing next to a sled that had 6 Polar Bear Dogs attached to it. But when Morra saw who it was, she ran up to him and planted a small kiss on his lips. " Zura," she used Azula's cover name, " This is my husband, Kodda. Kodda, this is my friend Zura"

Kodda smiled and said" It is nice to finally meet you, Zuza. Morra has told me a lot about you." Azula just bowed and replied, " It is nice to finally meet you as well, Kodda. Morra has also said a lot of good things about you too."

"Well then, I think we should get going. Loka and Tok are expecting us." the burly man said, referring to their 2 children. Azula/Zura nodded and was helped into he sled by Morra and as soon as she was secured in her seat, they were off.

During the trip, Morra told Azula the story about how she and her husband had met at the North Pole. She was a student of Yugoda in the art of healing, while Kodda was just a fisherman. They had met one day when he had broken his arm during a fishing trip and she was assigned to heal him. After that first meeting, the 2 began to see each other on a regular basis and 2 years after they had met, Kodda asked Morra to marry him. To which she readily agreed to and after 15 years of marriage, they were still a happy couple and they had 2 children to prove it. Originally, they lived at the north pole but with the war's end, Morra along with a number of benders and healers moved to the south pole to aid in the reconstruction of their sister tribe. About 20 minutes later, they came up to a small house that had a strong northern tribe influence in it construction and as they pulled up, they were met by a young girl that was about 14 years in age and a boy that was a few years younger than her. They were Loka and Tok, Morra and Kodda's children.

As the sled came to a stop, Morra stepped off of the sled and helped Azula up. At this point, the 2 children came up and hugged their mother. As Azula watched her healer happily embrace her 2 children, she could not help bu to remember all the times that she and Zuko had spent with their mother, Ursa. Even though it was a long time ago, Azula could still remember the many times that her mother would take her and Zuko to spend some time in the royal gardens and feed the turtle ducks that were in the pond. But alas, her mind set at that time had denied her the opportunity of enjoying the time that she had spent with her mother. All she would care about was being like her father and making him proud. Seeing that Ursa would usually spend more time with Zuko than with her. It was only when her mother was banished did Azula realized just how much she really did love her. At first, she only though that her mother only left because she only loved Zuko and did not want to see him killed and as a result, Azula began to build up an hate for her mother. But it was only when she came out of her madness, did Azula realized that her mother left not just to save Zuko, but to save the both of them from seeing her being murdered by their father and permanently damaging them, mentally. For years, she had been lead to believe that her mother did not love her and that she truly was a monster. But in reality, it was her father that was the monster and that her mother truly did love her. It was just another reminder of just how badly her father had manipulated her mind and that she was just another victim of his lust for power.

" Hey Zura, are you coming inside?" Morra spoke up, bringing Azula out of her deep thoughts. Azula/Zura just nodded in reply and entered Morra's home, while Kodda went around back and secured the dogs,

The house, like every other home and structure at the south pole, was made out of ice and snow, and was built by Kodda himself when they moved to the village. But it was surprisingly sturdy and even though it was made out of ice, the way it was constructed made the interior warm enough as to allow any one to live in it quite comfortably. Azula came in and sat on the 'couch', while Morra went into the Kitchen to get her something to drink. At this point Kodda came back into the house and sat on another, smaller couch that was on the other side of the living room. " So, Zura." he said. " My wife told me that she is helping you adjust to life at the pole. Where are you from?"

Azula was a bit taken back by Kodda's question. She knew that only Morra and Kenga knew who she really was and it was no surprise that Morra kept this secret from her family. For if any one were to find out that she was helping an former member of the Fire Nation Royal Family, it could mean trouble for not only Morra, but for her family as well. And in an atmosphere still thick with Anti-Fire Nation sentiment, there was no telling what the villagers would do to them. After a few moments of thought, Azula/Zura spoke..." I... I'm was from the Earth Kingdom. Ba Sing Se."

" Really, Ba Sing Se now? I heard that it is more like a small country, than a city." the burly man replied. Then he got a serious look on his face, " were you there when it was... you know. When it fell?" he asked. Azula flinched a bit.

"Ye... yes, I was. But I managed to flee before the occupation really began" she lied. She doubted that he really needed to know that she was the reason that the city fell and saw a number of unspeakable horrors.

" Do you have any family?" He asked. This was a sore subject for her, but she answered any way... " Not much, my mother left my father when I was young and my father... my father, is dead." Azula replied. Technically she did not lie to him this time. Her mother did leave them when she was young, while her 'father' might as well be dead to her. " I do have one brother though, but he lives with his wife in the fire nation." that statement caught Kodda by surprise. " He fell in love with a fire bender?"

" From what he says, she is not Fire bend. But he is happy, I'm glad for him." she said a bit timidly. " Well, I guess you can't help who you fall in love with." Kodda replied. Azula just nodded.

" Kodda dear, are you bothering our guess?" Morra asked, as she re-entered the living room with a pitcher of juice, Kodda just shrugged, "Well I hope not. I was just getting to know your friend here."

" It is alright Morra, I don't mind." Azula replied, still a bit timid. " Well then, Zura, would you like to help me make lunch?" Morra asked, Azula nodded and the 2 women went into the kitchen. While Kodda went into town with the children .Believe it or not, Azula had become quite the cook over the years. It was Morra herself that had taught her the art when she first came to the south pole. There were a few 'hic-ups' along the way, (Like Azula almost setting her home on fire and burning it to the ground) but in time, Azula was able to cook a meal and not smoke up her house. But just like a number of things Azula had to learn, this skill was vital for her survival.

A couple hours later, the lunch was almost completed and Kodda and family were expected back within a few minutes. As they were setting out the food, Auzla said, " Morra, I want to thank you for letting me into your home."

" You don't have to thank me,"Morra replied, " I just thought that you would like another reason to come in to town, other that to just sell fish."

" It's just not that, I want to thank you for all that you have done for me. No one had ever shown me such kindness in a long time." she began to tear up, something that the former princess normally never did. " You are my first real friend." she cried. Morra just came up and hugged the crying woman. " Well, your welcome and I am so glad that you consider me as a friend. But did't you tell me that you used to have 2 friends in the Fire Nation?'

" They... they weren't my friends." Azula said, wiping a few of her tears away. " I mean, I was not much of a friend to them as I though. I made them fear me, I would do horrible things to them just to get my way. I made my... Ty Lee leave the circus and travel with me when I was hunting for the Avatar and I almost killed her. I used to try and humiliate Mai because she had a crush on my brother... I'm not surprised that they have not tried to speak to me."

Morra just looked into her eyes and said, " You poor dear. You should not feel so bad, you were a different person back then. I know that you are sorry for what you did and I am very certain that if they knew that you were truly sorry for what had done to them, they would forgive you. I know your brother forgave you and that was why he had you freed. Maybe one day your 'friends' would forgive you too."

"I hope your right, Morra" Azula said with her head down. "And I hope it happens soon."

A few minutes later, Kodda and their 2 children returned home, but they were not alone. For with them were Kenga and his wife, who was actually from the Earth Kingdom. Her name was Lin. After exchanging greetings, they all sat at the table and ate the lunch that both Morra and Azula had made. Which consisted of rosted arctic hen and Sea weed bread. As they ate, they all talked any thing and every thing. From politics to the latest gossip from the village. At one point, Kenga even told the story about how he and Lin first met. He was visiting Gaoling when he first met her and after a few tries, she finally agreed to go out with him, they had been together ever since and were quite the happy couple.

As Azula looked on and saw just how happy the 2 couples were, she could not help but to wonder just what life would have been like if she had found someone in her life. Even though she was very beautiful by fire nation standards, she had never really pursued a romantic companionship with any one. The only time that she ever showed any kind of interest in a boy, was when she and her 'friends' had gone to Ember island for a vacation and she fell for a young man named Chan. Even though he had feelings for her, she only ended up scaring him off and she was left a bit heart broken. But she later got over it when she helped trashed his house and left Chan in tears. But even so, she would sometimes wounder why she was unable to gain the attention of boys like Ty Lee did. But the again, Ty Lee was not her and she had a natural carefree personality that gave her an aura that made her easy to approach. Either that, or it was the fact that Ty Lee was a lot more '_Developed_' than she was that made boys notice her more, Azula really did not know.

After lunch was finished, Kenga said that he had a surprise for Zura and it was out side. Curious about what the surprise was, Zura/Azula followed him outside. But as soon as she exited the house, she saw a Polar Bear Dog sitting in one of the sleds out side and when the creature saw Azula, she ran up to her master and tackled her to the ground, licking her face. All Morra and Co. could do was watch as Bao laid down on top her master. After managing to get her self off the ground, Azula asked... " What Bao is doing here? Did you go back and pick her up?" Kenga just nodded.

" And that is not all that I brought with me." He said, as he went up to his sled and took out 2 large bags. Azula got a bit puzzled by this and said " What's going on?" but it was Morra that spoke up and said, " Well, you did expect to wear the same clothes for the next 4 days?"

"What do you mean by that?"

" Well, Kenga and I both thought that you would like to spend the next few days in the village with us. Surprise!" Morra said cheerfully. Azula was at a lost for words. She just found out that she would be spending the next 4 days in the village , instead of going back to her home in the hidden bay. It would be the first time in years that she would be sleeping somewhere else other than her house and they had even brought Bao along so that she would not have to fend for herself alone at the house. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Azula said, as she went up to Morra and hugged her. To which, Morra returned the embrace. The rest of them just looked on and smiled, as the 2 woman hugged.

When all was said and done, Morra and her family help Azula move her bags in to the house, while Kenga and Lin left and went back to their home on the other side of the village. Azula would be staying in the home's guess room and Bao would stay in there with her. Tomorrow, Azula and Morra would head into town and do some shopping and they would even get a better look at the new home that was being built for her in the village.

As Azula laid in her bed, she could not help but to think about Morra and her family. Kodda was a great guy and they seemed to be quite the happy couple. They lived together and had a family. But even though she was a stranger to them, Azula was welcomed in to their home with open arms Azula could not help but to think just how lucky she was to have met such a family and she just hoped that she would not make them regret their decision to allow her into their home. That was her only thought, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

_**A/N:** Please review and tell me what you think. UH-60_


	8. Relapse

_A/N:_

_Chapter 7: Relapse_

It was now day 3 of Azula's stay at the home of one of her healers and her family. For the last 3 days, Azula, or Zura as she was known as, had been getting to spend some time around Morra's family, as well as the Water Tribe Village that she would soon be moving to. Just yesterday, Azula along with Morra and Kenga had gone to visit the home that was being constructed for her to move in to. The home itself would be one of the larger houses in the village when it was completed, which began to peek the interest of a number of the villagers there. They wall wondered just who would be moving in to such a home, but the official story was that it was going to be a summer home for one of the Earth Kingdom business men that did trade in the village and this almost seemed to be true when it was heard that a Noble man from Ba Sing Se by the name of Jin that had done some business in the village, visited the home and even paid for it's construction as well. Of course, that was only part of the cover story. No one was to know that the home was actually being built to become the new home for the former royal princess of the Fire Nation. The plan was that when the home was completed, Azula or rather 'Zura' would move in as a the home's care taker, with Jin visiting every once in a while to keep the ruse up. No one would ever guess that she was the real owner of the home, while it would be the Fire Lord that would be paying for its construction.

Today though, Azula was only with Morra and Bao, and today, they were both headed into the market to buy some things to make dinner with that evening and today was an extra special day in the market as a Earth Kingdom merchant vessel had pulled into port. That meant that the market would be fulled with goods and items strait from the Earth Kingdom. As the 2 women looked around the market, they saw a variety of vegetables and fruit that were not commonly found at the south pole and they thought that they would buy some of these goods and cook them for dinner. A nice change of pace from the regular Sea Prune Stew that they would normally have. Morra bought some pork , Platypus Eggs and Chilli to cook for dinner, while Azula brought some, pork, chilli, duck, chicken and turkey duck for when she went back home. It was clear to see that Azula was what you might call a "_Meat Mouth__". _But she also bought some Leechi nuts, eggs and rice, as well some meat bones for Bao. As the morning progressed, the 2 women just decided to look around at all the other items that had been brought in that day. There were furniture pieces _,_ gowns that were the latest style in the Kingdom and there were even one person there that were selling some toys. As Azula looked at the stall and at all the dolls that were on display, she could not help but to remember the time when her uncle had sent a Earth Kingdom doll for her.

It was during his legendary 600 day siege of the massive walled city of Ba Sing Se, that her uncle _Iroh_ had sent her a doll as a gift, but destroyed it because it was dressed in Earth Kingdom attire. It is only know that she realized that the only reason that he sent the gift was because he loved her and that he only thought that she would be happy to get such a gift for a girl her age. But Azula only thought that the only love that she needed came from her father . But she was wrong... Terribly wrong, her father never really loved her in the way that she hoped, he only used her in his unholy quest for ultimate power and in the end, it destroyed him and almost destroyed her. She knew better now and her uncle would even send her a box of his finest Tea Leaves for her to enjoy, every time the Rock Fish visited her home. It was then Azula got an odd idea, she went up to the vendor and bought 3 of the dolls. Her plan was to send one doll to her uncle, one to her brother and the third one she would keep for herself. It was her way, she thought, to thank the only people in the world for loving her and letting them know that she was thankful for their kindness.

It was now midday and that meant that it was time for lunch. Normally, both Morra and Azula would be at home getting ready to eat with the rest of the family. But Kodda had taken the children on a fishing trip, while Kenga and Lin spending the day home alone. Seeing that they were not cooking today, the both of them decided to have lunch at a local tea shop that had been opened up by the same Noble man that was "building" his new "home" in the village. The tea shop itself, was located not to far from the market and specialized in tea that were from the Earth Kingdom as well as some pastries. Morra ordered some crab puffs for herself while Azula opted for some egg custard tart. Bao just laid down under the table and contented her self by taking a nap. Soon their orders came and the t women began to eat...

" So Zura," Morra said, being careful to use her covert name, " How do you like it in the village?" Azula shrugged and replied, " I like it just fine. The people here are so friendly and warm."

Morra smiled at her remark, " and to think, soon you will be living here." Azula smiled, " I can not wait until I could move in to the mansion. Just promise me that you would visit me once in a while." she pleaded.

" Don't worry, I will visit and would my family. And I'm very certain that Kenga might visit you as well." Morra replied.

"I would like that very much"

They soon finished up their meals, paid and were soon on their way back to Morra's home to pack away all of their good for later. But as they made their way back through the market, they saw a large gathering of people near the village square. Curious about what was happening, the 2 went over to see what was going on and when they did, Azula's blood began to run cold. For what was going on was another Anti-Fire Nation Rally and it was being held by a group calling themselves "_The Victims"_. They were a group of Water Tribesmen that were either captured by the Fire Nation during the war, or had lost family and love ones during the many raids on their villages. They were made up of both men and women and they had held many rallies in a number of villages around the south pole, as well as some of the cities in the southern Earth Kingdom. They were even behind a number of rallies that were held in Ba Sing Se when _Fire Lord Zuko _mad a visit to the city a few years ago. They had visited this village before, a few times in the past and Azula had been in the village once when a rally was being held. The stories that she heard that day made both hes skin crawl and her blood boil. Even if Zuko had helped the economy of the south pole grow, _The Victims _could care less. They would not be satisfied until every single person in the world knew about the crimes the Fire Nation had committed and had paid for what they had done.

But by the looks of things, the crowd was not very big and most in the village did not seem to care about what they had to say. That is until one of the women on the stage brought some one up to speak and when Azula saw who it was, a look of horror flashed upon her face. On the stage was an old man who was dressed in Earth Kingdom attire, his hair was long and white and he looked a bit frail. But the most notable feature about him, was the the fact that the upper left corner of his head was burned and he had an eye patch covering his left eye. Azula remembered him all too well...

" I was once one of the elders of my village when the Fire Nation invaded," the man spoke, " they came by the thousands into my village, which only held 900 people in it. They came in and burned everything, they did not care! Houses, businesses, schools... burned to the ground, and when they were done, they gathered every one into the village square and lined them up. But not me, they made me come up in front of them and made me watch as every single man woman and child was burned alive in front of me! They killed every one just out of spite because one of their solders was killed when we tried to fight back! Then, the leader of the attack came up to me and said that I should go and tell the next village of what had happened and if they did not surrender, they would suffer the same fate. And to make her point... she did this to my face!" he pointed his burned face. " she ordered the murder of my entire village and all she got was life! I am here to tell you today that that is not enough, she should pay for what she did and the victims call out for justice and they will not rest until the demon known as Azula is taken out of her little cell and is put to death for what she had done! she must die! She must DIE!" the man continued chanting, only to have the same woman take him down from the stage. Then she began to speak...

"This is just another example of just what kind of people the Fire Benders are! The Fire Lord speaks of getting justice for all and yet, his sister is safely locked up in some prison. If he was really serious about getting justice for all, he would have her executed. We are here today, to demand the execution of Princess Azula and we will not rest until her dead corpse is hanging along side her father!" she preached, gaining the support of of many in the small crowd that had gathered.

Morra slowly turned to face Azula. Morra already knew about the crimes that the former princess had committed and she already knew better that any one that Azula was truly sorry for what she had done. But obviously these people did not know that. All they wanted, was to see her dead. Morra was very concerned for her friend, she did not know just how Azula would react upon hearing one of her victims speak in front of her. Azula for her part just had her head down and her fist clenched. She remembered that day when she lead her army in to that village, how she ordered every one in the village to be killed and how she had 'Marked' one of the village elders as a warning to the other villages to surrender. This was the first time that she actually heard one of her victims speak about her in such a way. She could the hate and the pain that were in his words, and what made it worse was that she was the cause for all his pain. She wanted to run up on to the stage and tell him just how sorry she was and ask for his forgiveness. She wanted to just take a sword and shove it into her heart in front of of them, so they could feel some sort of comfort. But all she could do was was stand there and let what the man had said sink in. The sound of Morra's voice, along with the sound of Bao's whimpers brought Azula out of her trance.

"Azula, are you all right?" Morra whispered to her friend. " I want to go home." she said softly.

" Azula..."

"I want to go home, tonight."

"But..."

"Tonight!" Azula demanded. All Morra could do was nod and watch as her young friend began to walk away from her. She knew that what the group had said had affected Azula greatly, but by how much much she really did not know. All she could do was keep an eye on her and hope that this recent event did not send Azula back into her deep depression...


	9. Me, Myself, and My Demons

_**A/N: **I want to thank every one that has either reviewed this fic or put it as a fave. Thank you very much! As always, leave a review. For it is them that lets me know if i am doing a good job. NOW ON TO THE FIC!_

_**Chapter 8 : Me, Myself, and My Demons**_

Azula walked quietly back to Morra's home. Behind her, Morra and Bao followed her at an safe distance as to give her some privacy. Just 1 hour ago, Azua had the unfortunate privilege of hearing from one of her former victims, the story of how she had ordered the execution of over 900 Earth Kingdom civilians after she and her army captured it during an offensive in the western Earth Kingdom. She remembered that day all too well. Her father had sent Azula to oversee the operation personally, after one of his generals had failed to make any gains in that region for almost a year. Not pleased with his progress, Azula '_Punished'_ said general by demoting him back into a private and made him fight at the very front during the battle. It was during one of these battles, that Azula had managed to capture said village and decided to punish the villagers for even thinking that they could fight back against the might that was the 'Glorious' Fire Nation war machine. They needed to be punished, at least that was what her father would say. She had all of them lined up in the village center, while one of the village elders was brought to the front and was made to watch as all of his people were burned alive in front his very eyes. But Azula only grinned, the the towns people were reduced into nothing more than ash. But she was not done, she needed to let the other villages a message that would make them think twice before they thought about fighting back and unfortunately for the elder...he would be that massage, as she burned the left side of his wrinkled face.

The tactic had worked. Upon hearing what the old man had said, a number of the villages had surrendered without incident and Azula had managed to score a great victory for the Fire Nation, and for her father. When she returned home, Azula was given a hero's welcome and a huge feast was held in her name at the place. So pleased was he with his daughter's victory, Ozai decided that she would be the perfect person to hunt down and kill the Avatar. But even though she enjoyed the praise that she had gotten for her success, never once had she ever thought about all the people that she had hurt in her quest to be like her father. It was only in her third year at the Boiling Rock, did Azula really began to feel the the weight of her actions. She was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women and children. She had ordered the murder of 900 civilians in that village, just because one of her men was killed by a group of people that were only trying to defend their homes. She had scarred an helpless old man, just so she could scare the other villages into surrendering. It was very clear to see that the former Princess had the blood of countless innocents on her hands and it was all her fault. Never once did she question her father's wishes, she was only his loyal daughter and she was all to willing to do anything to earn his love and respect. 2 things that he never intended to give her. All she was to him, was his mindless puppet. An extension of his cruelty and hate and as a result, there were now persons that were demanding her execution and her body left to rot next to the same person responsible for her actions.

After a few minutes of walking, Azula arrived home and went strait into her room. Morra and Bao entered the house soon after and went to see just haw the young woman was doing. But as she got close to the door, she could hear Azula sobbing on the other side. Being the mother figure that she was, Morra wanted to go inside and comfort her young charge, but what would she say? What could she say? Even though she knew that Azula was truly sorry for what she had done in the past, it did not change the fact that she had not done all those things. Even Morra herself almost did not want to help the poor woman after she found out who she was. But after spending some time with her, Morra came to see the wounded human being behind those amber eyes of hers , and not the unstable, cold blooded demon that the rest of the world thought she was. Morra even began to think of Azula, as one of her own children and just like any mother would, she so wanted to cheer her up. But could not. All Morra could do was give her friend some time to be alone and hope that Azula would be in a better position to talk. She then decided to head into the kitchen and start dinner. She hoped by doing this, she could keep her mind busy and not focus too much on the young, troubled woman crying in the next room. Leaving Bao laying down in front the door, worried for her master.

A few hours had passed and Azula had yet to come out of her room. Bao was still in front her door with her nose pressed up against it, while Morra was finishing up in the kitchen with dinner. Even though cooking dinner had helped a bit, she still could not help but to worry about her young friend. She had not come out of the since she came home and Morra was now beginning to wonder if she ever would. At first, she did not want to disturb Azula, thinking that she would eventually come out for her own. But it was almost dinner time and to tell you the truth, she was really starting to get worried. She walked up to the door... " Azula!" she called out, " Azula, are you alright?" she was only met with silence.

" Azula, it is almost time for dinner. Kodda and the kids would be home soon. Aren't you hungry?" Morra said, as she stood in front the closed door. But still, silence. At this point, Kodda and the rest of her family came in and saw her in front the door. " What's wrong hon'?" Kodda asked, as he came up to his wife.

" It's Zura. There was a rally in town and I think it affected her. She just came straight home and locked herself in her room." she said carefully, knowing that her family did not know who she really was. " What did they say?" he asked, getting a bit worried himself.

" They had a man from the Earth Kingdom speaking, he told a story from the war and of how his village was attacked." She replied, choosing her words carefully. " I did not hear all of it, but whatever he said, it must of really struck a nerve with her." Kodda frowned... " I guess the war must have really had and affect on her."

_'You have no idea.'_ Morra thought to herself. Then all of a sudden, Bao shot up and began to claw at the door. All the while whimpering. The couple were puzzled by the Polar Bear Dog's actions and were wondering why she was doing this. But then it hit them, something must be wrong with Azula! "ZURA!" Kodda called out. But still nothing. There was only an ominous silence. "ZURA!" still nothing. Only Bao's barking and scratching at the door could be heard. That was it! Kodda began to kick the door repeatedly in an attempt to break it down. He did not care about the damage he was doing, he just knew that something was wrong and his wife's friend was in trouble. Soon, the large man managed to break down the locked door and entered the room with Morra right behind him. But what they saw inside left them in shock and horror. Laying in the bed, was Azula/Zura. She was on her back, with her arms and legs spread out. But what really got there attention, were the large blood stains that had formed on the sheets where her wrists were. As well as the small piece of ice that had been sharpened and covered with blood... her blood. The former princess had slit her own wrist in an attempt to commit suicide and by the looks of things she might almost succeed. Morra knew that what the old man had said affected Azula, but she did not knew it would have driven her to do this.

Quickly, Morra was by her young charge's side and began to rip off pieces of her own dress and began wrapping the torn fabric around her cuts, in an attempt to stop the bleeding. While Kodda ran out the room and told the children to go by their neighbor's house and stay there until he called them back. He did not want them to see the horrible sight of their new friend like this. He then went back to the room just in time to see his wife using her healing method on Zura in an effort to save her life. " Kodda!" Morra called out, " go get Kenga! Tell him what happened!" Kodda just nodded and ran out the door , to get his wife's friend. All Morra could do now , was try and stop the bleeding and hope that Azula would be alright.

Azula did know where she was, nor did she know how she got there. The last thing that she could remember, was laying down in the bed not to long after she had slit her own wrist in an attempt to end her life. It was just earlier in the day, she was in the village and there was another Anti-Fire Nation rally going on. But what really got her attention, was a man who made watch the execution of his entire village. But if that were not enough, she had personally burned the left side of his face, as a warning to the other villages as not to resist them. She could feel the hate in his word, the pain in his voice. She caused that, she was the reason why he was in so much pain, why his village was destroyed and why many of his people were dead. She began to wonder just how she was able to to live with her self all these years, with the knowledge that she had killed so many innocent people. Why did she do it at all. She did not deserve to live and those people in the village knew it. She was the most hated human in the world and felt like every one would not be happy until she and her father were dead and their bodies were hanging in the sun. She knew what she had to do, the words of that poor man still rung in her ears and if she did this she thought, she could give him some form of comfort. She just hoped that Morra and Kenga would forgive her for what she was about to do, and that the spirit world would be kind to her.

She found a piece of ice that was jutting out near the window and broke it off. She looked at the piece for a few moments and determined that it would suit her needs for what she was about to do. She then brought up her left arm and proceeded to slit her wrist. She bit her lip as the sharp, cold object sliced through her flesh. She had to do every thing in her power from yelling out in pain and alerting Morra. When she was done with her left wrist, she then proceeded to cut her right wrist. All the while, trying not to scream in pain. At this point she could hear Morra and Bao outside her door, but she ignored them. She did not want them to stop her... she wanted to die. As she laid down on the bed, Azula could feel the blood, her blood, flow from her now throbbing veins. She knew that it would not take long for her to bleed out, but she did not care. She just hoped that with her death, all her victims would finally find some peace. That was her last thought before everything went black and the next thing she knew, she was here. Where ever "Here" was.

_**'How does it feel?'**_ a voice asked in the darkness. "What...? who are you?" Azula called out.

_**'How does it feel to be remembered as a murderer?' **_the voice said again. _**'How does it feel to here from one of your own victims?' **_

"I do not under stand, who are you?" Azula called out again into the darkness. "Show your self."

_**'Why Azula, don't you recognize me?'**_ the voice said, slightly amused. Then, a figure dressed in a Fire Nation military uniform came walking out from the darkness. The figure was obviously female, her hair was wild and messy and her amber eyes were showed that she was of unstable mind. But when Azula saw the figure, she could not believe her now wide eyes. For now standing in front her... was... herself!. The other Azula smiled wickedly, _**' Don't you recognize your own self ? Your former glorious self ?' **_

" There was nothing glorious about who I was!" the real Azula shot back. _**'Oh come now, you are the royal princess of the Mighty Fire Nation. The greatest nation the world has ever known. You are the pride of your father and a master bender. You are the greatest bender our nation has ever seen. You brought glory to our Nation.'**_

"All I brought to our nation, is shame and disgrace." Azula shot back. " I was... am a murderer."

_**'No your not, you lead that campaign that ensured our nation's victory in the western Earth Kingdom. You are a hero.'**_

"No I'm not! I killed all those people! There was nothing glorious about that!"

_**'Those "people" were just Earth Kingdom. They did not deserve to live, they tried to stop our victory! They got what they deserved' **_she said angrily, _**'They are no more special than those water benders that destroyed your mind!'**_

"IT WAS FATHER THAT DESTROYED OUR MINDS!" Azula roared, " He never love me, he only cared about himself! The only person that really loved me, he banished!"

_**'You mean the same person that abandoned you and your weak brother to save herself?' **_she replied.

" My brother is not weak! He loves me, if not so then why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?"

_**'Because he is not like you. He does not have the stomach to kill... like you do. You killed with such a passion, like it was second nature to you. You liked to kill and you know know it!' **_

Azula just bowed her head and allowed what her other self had told her to sink in. There was a time where she would not hesitate to kill some one , if she saw it fit to do so. Which was all the time. Never once did she question her actions, nor did she ever shown any kind of remorse. She then began to wonder just how many people had she killed. How many families that she destroyed, children left orphaned , parents left childless. Just how many indeed? "I'm... I'm no longer that person." she whispered.

_**'But you did kill all those people. Your just like me, your true self.'**_

"I'm nothing like you! At least... not any more..."

_**'You never did answer my question. How does it feel to be remembered in such vivid detail? To be reminded of your own actions?' **_she asked. Azula just sighed heavily and said... " Horrible. He has every right to want me dead, after what I had done to him and his village. I wish there was a way I... I could make things right." Azula finished her statement, her heart feeling heavy at what she had said. She waited for her other self to respond to her to her statement, she expected to hear her former self to say something, to try and discredit her. But what happened next, left her stunned. The other Azula just smiled and said...

_**'Then maybe... there is hope for both of us after all...' **_and with that, she slowly faded away. Leaving Azula all alone in the darkness once again, with only her thoughts as company...


	10. Renewed Faith

_**Chapter 9 : Renewed Faith**_

_Captain Hue _sat in his private quarters enjoying his dinner, while the former Fire Navy vessel "Fire Dragon" made its way to the south pole. The _'Fire Dragon' _itself was a rather new vessel, compared the '_Rock Fish' _that made the covert runs to Azula at the south pole. The _Dragon Hawk-class _vessel was one of the last warships to be built by the Fire Nation before the end of the war and was meant to be a replacement for the aging _Empire-class _capital ship, that made up the bulk of the Fire Navy fleet. With a length of _155 meters, _and a with of _30 meters, _it was far smaller that the large Empire-class. But what it lacked in size, it more than made up for it, by its speed and maneuverability. These , coupled with the new _Ballistas _that had been designed just for that class, made them thee most deadliest vessels to ever serve the navy. When the first 5 vessels were completed, they were all given to the Fire Navy's top captains to command and Hue was one of them. It was expected that within 5 years time, they would have completely taken over as the Navy's top capital ships. But this never came to be, for at the end of the war, Fire Lord Zuko had ordered a complete halt in the construction of new warships and the down sizing of the navy. That left the 5 Dragon Hawk-class vessels that were completed, the only ones to be ever built, as well as, the last warships to enter service with the navy. But just because they were new, did not mean that they were safe from the scrap yard. They were all slated to be pulled from service and sent to the scrap yard and within one year, _the Azulon, the Kanabo, the Shozin _and _the Raven Eagle, _were all put to the torch as it were, but one of them escaped this fate... _the Fire Dragon. _

Just one week after the order was given to scrap the vessel, Captain Hue along with the rest of his crew went rouge and they took the Fire Dragon with them. For the next 7+ years, Hue now a fugitive, was now on the run from a nation that at one time considered him a hero. He had good reason to be on the run. For during the war, while commanding another vessel, Hue bombarded an Earth Kingdom village that were harboring 3 Earth Kingdom warships. Instead of just asking for the ships to surrender, he proceeded to bombard the village and ships and in the end, 700 civilians were dead and the town was completely destroyed. As it turned out, the Earth Kingdom vessels were only there to evacuate the population ahead of an advancing Fire Nation army and they were unarmed. It was very clear to see why Hue was on the run, he had blood on his hands and it was his crew's loyalty to him, that made them want to join him. Over the years though, the once proud Navy captain and crew had resorted to piracy to sustain them selves, as well as, they had resorted to raiding villages in both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom to find coal to power their ship. As the years passed, Hue began to curse the new Fire Lord for making him into a criminal and fugitive. During the days of Ozai, he was a hero. A symbol of what the Fire Nation should be, but now with Zuko as Fire Lord, he was the shame of a nation. This was not how he planed to spend the rest of his life, he was a hero, the pride of a nation. But what could he do? He was only one ship and even though it was more than a match for any other vessel in the navy, there was still no way he could sustain himself for long.

But one day, he came into contact with a noble man by the name of Ju Long and for the next 7 months, the noble man had been supplying him with the funds that he needed, so that he could sustain his crew. But 3 weeks ago, Ju Long cave him a piece of information that he could hardly believe. Ju Long was planning to topple Zuko and install the former princess Azula as the new Fire Lord. But she would be a figure head, as it would be Ju Long and a number of other nobles that would be calling the shots. At firs, Hue did not want to help the noble man with his plans thinking that it was pure madness. But the idea of finally being able to go home and be recognized as a hero was to good to pas up. Hue agreed and one day later, for the first time in months, the _Fire Dragon_ put to sea. On its way to the south pole to locate and 'Free' the exiled princess. But the trip had not been an easy one, for the last 3 weeks, they had been avoiding patrols that had been sent out to find them, by both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. They were wanted fugitives after all and even though they could have easily take on the other vessels, the thought it best not to draw any attention to themselves. But other than that, the trip was an uneventful one. They were now in the south sea, meaning that they were far away from all the patrols. Which meant that the crew could relax a little bit. But they still had to be on their toe, there was still a chance that they could run into a Water Tribe vessel and even though the water tribes were generally peaceful, in recent years, the Southern Water tribes had been building up their military to defend their homes. There were even rumors that they had added water powered submarines in to their arsenals. They were only stories, but it was enough to keep them on alert.

As Hue sat there eating, one of his crew men entered his cabin and said, "Captain, we are approaching the south pole coast line."

" Thank you, Mako. I will be up with in a fem minutes. Alert our guest that we have arrived. " Hue told the young man. The crew man saluted and made his way back to the bridge. Hue just sighed and and finished up his meal, before he left his cabin and made his way to the bridge.

A few minutes later, Captain Hue was now on the bridge and he was looking through his spy glass , examining the coastline. And he did not like what he saw. The coast line itself was nothing more than a series of jagged cliffs and glaciers, giving no sign that there were any inlets, bays, or coves. It was at this point that Ju Long and his body guard came on the bridge.

"I thought you said that there was a bay at this location?" Hue growled. Ju Long sighed and said "What part of 'Hidden' did you not under stand, Captain?"

"Are you even sure that that those charts you gave us are accurate?" Hue asked, again. " What did I say to you about asking questions?" Ju Long replied.

" Watch it old man," Hue growled, dangerously, "You forget who's ship your on!"

"Enough with this fighting. Just look, we are at the exact location. The bay is hidden behind one of those glaciers... That one!" the noble man said, as he looked through the spy glass. Puzzled a bit by his statement, Hue looked through his own at the cliff side and when he did, he saw the image of a Polar Bear Dog, carved in to the side of the icy cliff face. The cover story was that the water tribes did this as a marker for merchant ships to see, on their way to one of the many Villages in the area. But in reality, the image was made so that the _Rock Fish _could find the entrance to the hidden bay that had Azula. "You see that image?" Ju Long asked, Hue nodded. " That marker was set up so that the Rock Fish could find the hidden bay."

" So we are at the right place. But how do we get in to this hidden bay?"

" Well, isn't this a war ship? Blast a hole in it!." Ju Long snapped. "And just who do you think you are yelling at Long? This is MY vessel, and you have no right to tell me what to do..." Hue was about to advance on him, when his body guard came in and sent an iron fist at him, sending the captain to the floor. 2 of the crew men tried to take him one, but the guard recalled said fist and sent it, along with another one at them. Striking the 2 of them on there heads and leaving large openings in their skulls as they hit the floor. Neither of them got up. The body guard for his part recalled both iron fist and was about to strike again when Ju Long held up his hand.

" That would be enough. You see captain, you may be in command of this vessel, but this is my mission and what I say, GOES. Now, you are going to is give me some of your men and we are going to get our princess back. Do you under stand me?" Ju long said calmly. Hue got up and just looked at the noble man, as he wiped off a touch of blood from his lip and nodded.

" Good, we have agreement. Oh, as to make sure that you do not try to leave me behind and leave, my associate here will and make sure that you do not go back on our deal." he said as he gestured to his body guard. All Hue could do was nod in agreement and allow Ju Long to have his way.

Hue could not believe that he was being ordered around by a man that looked like he should have been out out to pasture and on his own ship no less. This was something that he would never let fly and he would of killed any one that did, but the only thing that prevented him from just doing that to Ju Long, was his 'Associate' and those iron fist that had just killed 2 of his men. Where had he seen that before? But right now he could not concern himself with that, he had to put on a brave face for his crew and wonder what he had just gotten him self and his crew into.

Azula just stood there all alone in the darkness. Just a few moments ago, she had just been confronted by her own self and she was forced to face off with the demon that she once was. She was forced to face the fact that she really was a murderer and that she had the blood of unknown thousands on her hands. She was made to realize that no matter what she did, she would have to live with that guilt all of her life and she that history would always paint her as a monster. All of these facts and more churned in her head, as she stood alone in the dark.

_'Are you done feeling sorry for your self, Azula?" _she heard a voice say. But it was not the voice of herself, it was male. Azula slowly looked up and when she did, she saw a man bearded man with long white hair that was done up in a traditional Fire Nation hair style and he was dressed in Fire Nation Garb. "Who...Who are you?" Azula stuttered out.

_'Who am I, is not important. I just want to know if you are finished sulking in your own misery and you are ready to rejoin the world of the living?'_ he said calmly. Azula blinked, " Wait a minute, I'm dead?"

_'No, you are not. But from what I have seen, you are determined to end your own life. Why would you want to do that?' _Azula just looked down in shame and said...

"Because... Because, they want me dead." The man raised an eye brow, _'Who want's you dead, and who are they?' _

"My victims... My victims want me dead." she said sadly. _'But why do they want you dead?'_

"Isn't it obvious, Don't you know who I am?" I am the monster of the Fire Nation, the Butcher of Ba Sing Se. I killed many all because I wanted something that was not meant for me to have. I deserve to die... I should die." She began to cry. The man just looked at her and said, _' I see. But if you ask me, it sounds like that it is you that want to you to die and not your victims.' _

"But, but what do you mean? They said that I should die, that I deserved to die after what I had done to them."

_'But do YOU think that you should die? As far as I can see it, you are just as much a victim as they are. You were manipulated in to believing that your father loved you. The same person that was willing to kill your brother so that he could become the next Fire Lord, the same person that sent your mother __away because she tried to save him. You were brained washed in to thinking that everything you did was what he wanted. You never had a chance to develop like a normal person, you were never once __given a choice to do what you thought was right. It was he that made you do all those things he was the real reason for all those people wanting you dead. You are now getting a chance rebuild your life and you have managed to prove to some that you a really are a changed person and have accepted you as a friend. But you are allowing your guilt to hinder your chance at a new life, yes you did some bad things and you are truly sorry for what you did. But you are just going to have to learn how to live with that guilt and should remember, the fact that you feel this way, is a sign that you really have changed for the better. Now tell me, Are you done Feeling sorry for your self and are you ready to rejoin the world of the living?' _

Azula just stood there and allowed what he had said to sink in and she had to admit, he was right. She was allowing her guilt to cloud her mind and her judgment. That's all she was doing over the past years, but she failed to realize that she was just another victim of her father, like every one else. He brain washed her into thinking that what she was doing was the right thing to do. He made her in to a mindless, ruthless creature that only did what her father wanted. He made her think that her mother never really loved her. But what was even worse, her made her into a mirror image of himself. Her turned his own daughter into a monster and in doing so, he deprived her of the opportunity of having a normal life. It was then Azula remembered that she was getting a second chance at life and that her brother was the reason for it happening. Thanks to him, she was now getting a chance to experience all the things that her father had taken away from her. She had managed to gain new friends in her healers and their families. She had proven that she was not as heartless as every one thought, when she took Bao in and raised her. But most of all, she had proven to herself that she was able to reassert herself back into society when she began to visit the village and become a regular figure in the market. Yes she did some bad things and yes, she would never be able to fully get rid of her guilt. But at least she knew that she was sorry for what she did and that fact alone showed that she had really changed for the better. With renewed faith in herself, Azula looked up to him and said...

" I am ready to return to life. I was foolish to try and end my life when I now have a chance to start a new one. I just hope that Morra could forgive me for what I tried to do." The man smiled and said, _' She is a very understanding woman, I am sure that you have nothing to fear from her or her family.'_

" But tell me old one," Azula asked, " Why would you concern yourself with some one like me?" he just smiled and said, _'Now what kind of a person would I be, if I didn't take the time to see about my Great-Grand daughter?' _and with that, a large dragon came out from under his feet and surrounded the 2 of them, before every thing went white...

Thanks to the ballistas on board the _Fire Dragon, _the small boats carrying Ju Long and his away party were able to make their way into the hidden bay. Ju Long felt like a young child that was about to receive his or her birthday gift early. He was just meters away from the one person that would not only be the key in returning the Fire Nation to its rightful place in the world, but also see to it that his family was returned to its rightful place of prominence in the Fire Nation nobility. They were all dressed in ceremonial garbs that had been provided by Ju Long, right before they left North Chung-Ling, they had collected 2 large crates that were sent to the city by Ju Long himself and inside of them, were the same uniforms that they wore, as well as some other items that would make the ruse believable. And considering that Azula was in a weak state of mind, there was no doubt in Ju Long's mind that Azula would believe him when he said what he had to say.

The moon bathed the area with a pale blue light, as the 3 boats came ashore. Almost immediately, the men jump onto the shore and lit up some torches to light up the area. Studying one of the maps that her had gotten from the Rock Fish crewman, Ju Long, dressed in his finest attire, lead the men inland and after a few minutes of walking, they came up to a rather modest structure that was sitting in the open tundra. Ju Long was rather perplexed at the site of the building, even if it did house Azula, an enemy to the Fire Lord, it looked like that some one could live rather comfortably in it. But what really got his attention, was the fact that it was in complete darkness. Thinking that Azula was asleep, _(It was night time after all)_ the group made its way up to the structure, making sure not to stumble on any of the fishing equipment that were out side. As they came up to the door, they all wondered just how the former princess would react. Would she thank them for coming for her, would she be upset that it took so long to for someone to come and get her, or would she burn them all to a crisp for waking her up at such an unholy hour. They would all soon find out, as Ju Long slowly opened the door and entered the building, trying not to make any sounds as to alert the princess to their presence. But as they looked around the the home, it was soon clear that Azula was not there. As a mater a fact, it looked like she had not been there for a number of days.

This latest development puzzled Ju Long. Where was she, where could she have gone? This was not apart of his plan, he had planned to come in and make himself look as the loyal noble man that was here to tell her that the people wanted her to be Fire Lord. He coming here and not finding her was a major set back, indeed. All he could do now was order the men back into the boats and return to the _Fire Dragon, _to tell Hue about the recent development.

"What do you mean that she was not there?" Hue asked, sounding a bit angry. "I thought you said that she was being kept there?"

" This is just a minor set back, we will find her. The plan is not dead yet," Ju Long replied. "If we stay here any longer, we will not have enough supplies to return to Fire Fountain City." Hue replied, slamming his fist onto the table. The body guard was about to get up, but Ju Long stopped him.

" Supplies should not be be a problem, the map says that there is a village not to far from here. You should be able to get what you need from there. If we leave now, we should be there by morning."Captain Hue was about to protest again, but the images of the 2 dead crewmen were still fresh in his mind. All he could do was agree with the noble and order his crew to weigh anchor and head to said village.

After which, Ju Long left along with his body guard, and made there back to their cabins. But a Ju Long was contemplated his next move, his Body Guard had other things on his mind. He though that he would be able to finally get his revenge on the one that had made him an out cast in his nation and finally end his charade as an hired gun for some noble man. But no matter, tomorrow was another day and his employer was as driven as he was. But there was one major thing, they both had different plans for when they finally found the former princess. For Ju Long, it was to make her believe that she would become the next fire lord and use her as a means to control the Fire Nation. But the Body Guard could care less about what Ju Long wanted, for when he did finally found Azula...

He was going to kill her...

_**A/N:**_ _Can you guess just who the old man was that talked to Azula? PM me your answer and I will post the ones who guessed the correct answer, in the next chapter. _


	11. The Next Day

_**A/N:** The correct answer to last chapter's question was... Roku. Congrats to both **ArrayePL **and **Rioshix** for guessing the correct answer. Both Azula and Zuko are both related to Avatar Roku. Thank you for playing. NOW ON TO THE FIC!_

_ **Chapter 10 : The Next Day **_

It had been a long night, but Morra did not leave Azula's side at any time. Last night, Morra, along with her husband were forced to break into Azula's room after she had failed to answer their calls. But when they finally entered the room they found an horrific sight, for laying in the bed, was the unconscious form of Azula/Zura with her wrists slit and bleeding. For a few moments, they just stared at her almost lifeless body. Unable to comprehend that their new found friend and surrogate daughter was trying to end her life. But soon, the shock wore off and the 2 then set about the task of saving her life. First, Morra ripped off pieces of her own dress and wrapped them on Azula's wrist in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Then, whlie her husband went to get Kenga and inform him of what had happened, Morra proceeded to use her water bending to heal the cuts on her wrist. She was successful and the bleeding stopped, but Azula had yet to regain consciousness. Possibly a result of the large amounts blood that had left her body. By the time Kodda had returned with Kenga , Azula still had not woken up, but she was still breathing. It was then decided to move the sleeping form of Azula off her blood stained bed and on to the couch that was in the family room. Kenga then decided to stay the night and help Morra watch over their young charge. Itwas at this time that Morra filled him in on what had happened when they went into town and heard the story from one of her victims. The cause for her relapse back into her depression and possible cause for her wanting to take her own life. Both Morra and Kenga hoped that this event destroy all the had work that Azula had put in to change her life, but all they could do now was keep and keep an eye on her and hope that she did not do any lasting damage to herself.

For the rest of the night, Kenga and Morra kept an eye on Azula as she slept. Morra making sure that her Azula's pulse was stable, while Kenga just made a few notes that would be sent back to Zuko about what had happened. As well as keeping an eye on Bao, who was obviously worried about her master. But soon, even the 2 healers were unable to stay awake and Kenga fell asleep at the table. But Morra stayed by Azula's side the entire time and fell asleep in her chair, while Bao just laid herself down by the couch and slept. The next morning, Morra began to stir. Her neck and back were a bit stiff as a result of sleeping in the chair all night and her mouth was now suffering from a bad case of '_Dragon's Breath.'_ She had not bothered to clean her self up last night, as she was too focused on Azula's well being. As she looked down at Azula, Morra saw that her pulse was strong as well as her skin color had returned. An improvement over the deathly pale color that she had the night before. As she continued to look at Azula, she noticed that her eye lids were moving rather rapidly. A sure sign the the former princess was dreaming, but of what, Morra really did not know. She was about to get up and make herself a pot of tea, when she heard a soft moan and when she looked down, she saw that Azula was starting to wake up . Morra was back at her side in a flash, as the young woman began to open her eyes... "Azula..." She said softly, " Azula, are you all right?" At this point, Bao was alert and she soon began to lick her master's hand.

"Mor... Morra? Where am I, what happened?" Azula asked in a weak voice. " Just take it easy, how are you feeling?" the healer asked.

" My wrists hurt. Oh no... Morra, I am so sorry if I had you worried." whispered out, but Morra just smiled and said, "It's OK, I am just glad that you are alright. Would you like some tea?" Azula just nodded slightly. Morra just nodded back and went went into the kitchen to start a pot. Passing a sleeping, drooling Kenga by the table.

Azula was now alone in the family room, save for Kenga who was still asleep at the table and Bao, who was now by her side and resting her head on her chest. As Azula began to scratch her companion on the head, she could not help but to think about what her Great-Grand father had told her. She was now getting a second chance and the fact that she had managed to accomplish so much in the last few years, showed that she committed to changing her self for the better. Sure there were many that wanted her dead and history would always remember her as a monster, but she would just have to live with that fact for the rest of her life and not allow her guilt to consume her and destroy all that she had worked so hard to achieve.

"How are you feeling Zula?" she heard a male voice say and when she looked , she saw Kenga standing over her with Morra behind the couch. " I'm fine, don't worry about me. I am just so sorry for what I did. I mean...just to hear that man stalk about what I did to him and his village... I just don't know what came over me." she said sadly. Morra just sat back down beside her and handed her a cup of tea, while Kenga sat in another chair next to her.

" Well, I doubt that it was fun to hear about what you did from some one that witnessed it." Kenga said.

"Where's Kodda?" Azula asked. "He took the children out on another fishing trip." Morra replied, "He figured that you would want to be alone for a while and considering what happened last night..."

" I'm so sorry that I had all of you so worried." she pleaded, "I... I just was not thinking strait." she to tear up a bit. But Morra came in and said, " It's all right. If I were in your position, I would have done the same. Sometimes guilt can over power even the most rational minds, but it all you can do is over come in and work harder to become the person that you want to be and not the person that your once were."

"Your right."Azula said softly, "I've only been feeling sorry for my self when I should have been focusing on what I have accomplished. I not that monster that every one thinks I am, I am not that person any more. I want to change."

"And you have changed." Kenga replied, " From what I have see, you have proven that you are not that person any more. You are a very capable young person and that you are committed to taking advantage of the new life that you have now. As far as I know, the demon that that old man was talking about, no longer exists."

" He's right you know," Morra said, " You should not let this deter you from trying to build a new life for your self. Now... I'm going to warm up some of that stew that I made last night. You did miss dinner after all and you must be hungry, are you not?" Azula smiled a bit and nodded. "Well then, I better get started." and with that, Morra went into the kitchen to heat up some food, while Kenga stayed with Azula and talked with her. But before Morra left, Azula spoke up and said,

"Um... Morra, if it is all right with you, I would like to stay an extra 2 days with your family. Can I?" she asked hopefully. Morra smiled happily and said. "I don't mind. As a matter a fact, I was going to ask if you wanted to stay here a little longer."

Azula nodded with a smile and went back talking with Kenga, while Morra went back into the Kitchen. But as she did, Morra smiled and though, " It's good to see her smile again."

Dawn was now breaking when the _Fire Dragon _steamed in to the secluded bay, located a few miles away from the the Water Tribe village. Just the night before, they had located the hidden bay where the former princess of the Fire Nation was being kept. The organizer of the mission was thrilled that they were about to get the one person that would return the Fire Nation to its former glory_(and his family to __its rightful place as the most powerful family in the Fire Nation.)_ but when they arrived, they found that the princess was not even there to begin with and by the looks of thing, she had not been there for a few days. To say that Ju Long was a tad upset by this was like saying that Aang was just a Air Bender. A gross understatement. But this not deter him one bit, if any thing, it only set his plans back a bit. He had originally planned to stay at the bay and wait for Azula to return, but unfortunately, the long trip to the south pole had already strained the supplies that were on board. They had not really planned on staying at the south pole for long, they only had enough food and coal for a six week trip. 3 weeks to the pole and 3 weeks back to the Fire Nation. If they were to stay at the south pole for any longer, they risked running out of fuel before they made it back. But it was then Ju Long hatched an idea. Not to far from the hidden bay, was an one of the many water tribe villages that dotted the south pole and located in the village, was a storage depot that held tonnes of coal that would have been used by both the Rock Fish as well as the many Earth Kingdom vessels that frequented the port and need to supply up for the long trip back to their respective nations.

The plan was to pull into the one of the many secluded bays that lined the coast line and by using the 2 tanks that were stored in on board the vessel, _(This was one of the features that the Dragon Hawk-class vessel had)_ they would head over land towards the village, raid the depot and using one of the tanks, carry the coal back to the Fire Dragon. Ju Long wanted the raid to go down as soon as possible and get back to sea, but Captain Hue said that it would be better if they wait until nightfall before they would raid the village. Seeing that there was a less likely chance that they would meet any resistance. With a bit of grumbling, Ju Long agreed to this and decided to wait until night fall. But that did not mean that they were going to stay there and wait, instead, Captain Hue planed to send some of his crew into the village and scout the area. All in disguise of course. While the men were in the village, they would map it out and locate the exact location of the depot, as well as locate other targets in the village that might be of interest to them. After they were done, they would return to the ship, mark their targets and when night fell, launch the raid. After a few final words from Hue, the group of men left the Fire Dragon and headed into the town. A few hours later, the team returned from their scouting mission and they had managed to locate and map out the depot that was in town. But there was one other piece of information that they had not expected to gain.

Ju Long and his body guard were both called to the captain quarters about an hour after the scouting team's return. When they arrived, they were met by both Captain Hue, as well as by the team's leader. A tall, skinny man by the name of Hong. " Ah, Long."Hue said, " It is nice that you could make it."

"Cut the small talk Hue." Ju Long snapped, " Why have you called me here." Hue just motioned to Hong and said, "Mister Hong over here had fallen into a piece of information that you might find interesting and of use to you."

"Well, what is it?" the noble man asked rather impatiently. Hong just looked at his captain, who nodded at him to speak before he started to tell his tail...

" We had entered the town just before midday. As ordered, we managed to locate the Coal depot near the edge of town, near the water front. We were about to leave when one of the men called me over to a near by house. And if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have called him a liar."

"Well, What did you see?" Long shouted, causing Hong to flinch a bit. But he continued, " I saw her."

"Who?"

"Princess Azula. She was standing outside one of the ice homes in the village with a couple of the villagers. It looked like they were helping her to move around." Hong replied, sounding as if he could not believe what he was saying.

"Are you sure it was her, Tell me man?" Long asked, coming up to the young man's face. "Tell me! Was it her?"

" It was her, I saw her with my very own eyes. I was the princess." Hong told him.

Ju Long could not believe what he was hearing. This man had just told him that princess Azula was in fact, in the Water Tribe Village that Hue and his crew were planing to raid that night. How or why she was in the village, he did not know or care. What he did know was that his princess and future puppet Fire Lord was there and in his grasp.

"Captain, change of plans. I and my companion here will go into the village with your men and we will rescue our princess."

"But what about the coal?" Hue asked, " We need them to get back to the Fire Nation!"

"You forget, my dear captain. The only reason you were going to going to get the coal, was that we were going to stay longer at the south pole. But once we get our princess back, we could head back home one time. In other words , we don't need the coal." Ju Long replied. Hue wanted to to protest, but he knew that the old man was right. If they were able to get Azula that same day, they would not need the extra coal. Plus, he wanted to get out of this cursed cold weather as soon as possible. But most of all, he wanted Ju Long off his vessel as soon as possible. Thanks to him, 2 of his men were dead and they had risked being found and attacked by both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom navies, respectively. All he did was take a deep breath and said, " All right. But as soon as we get back home, I do not want to see you in Fire Fountain City again and you do not contact me ever again! Do you under stand?"

"Don't worry Hue, once this is done you will never see me again." Ju Long replied with a smile and with that, he along with his companion went back to their quarters to prepare for their upcoming trip in to the village.

It was now night time in the home of Morra and her family. Kenga had long since gone home, while Kodda and their 2 children had returned home from another fishing trip. Things had calm down from the near scare that Azula had given every one the previous night ans things were almost back to normal. After having breakfast, Azula decided that she wanted to make up for what she had made her new friends go through by helping Morra around her home. Of course, Morra protested. Saying that she needed her rest, but Azula said that she wanted to help her after what she had done. But eventually Azula realized that Morra was only thinking about her well being and contented herself by playing with Bao. But she did manage to help Morra with dinner. That alone made her feel a little bit better about herself. But now, it was late and every one were now in bed. Well... almost every one, as there were 2 people that were still awake at that hour. Sitting in the family room, was Azula and standing behind her with her hands at her temples was Morra.

Once again, they were engaged in another healing session and after Azula's attempt at ending her own life, Morra thought it would be best that they do another session just to be on the safe side. "Now just relax, Azula" Morra said softly, " Just relax and calm your mind, and allow the water to do its work."

Azula did as she said and cleared her mind. She could feel as if the cool water was entering her mind and cooling it off. It was a feeling that she got every time she had this session. Within a few minuets, Morra removed her hands and the water that had covered them returned to the pouch from once it came. "How are you feeling Azula?" Morra asked, "Better, thank you."she replied, as she got up from the couch.

" Are you sure that you don't want me to stay out her while you sleep? You know you don't have to sleep in the room if you don't want to." Morra said, Her motherly persona showing itself.

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, I think Kodda would like some of your attention now." Azula said with a small grin. Morra returned the grin with a small giggle.

The 2 women were about to turn in for the night when a heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" Morra asked to no one in particular. There was another knock on the door "Who is it?" Morra asked as she walked up to the door.

Even though it was late at night, Morra was not worried one bit. The village was a rather close community and crime was almost unheard of there. Thinking it might have been one of her neighbors, Morra walked up to the door and opened it. But when she did, both she and Azula were met with a rather odd sight. Standing in front of them was a old man and he was dressed in official Fire Nation garb, similar to what high ranking noble men in the government would wear. Both Morra and Azula were puzzled by the appearance of this man and were wondering just what he wanted. But when the old man caught sight of Azula, bowed and said...

" Princess Azula, It is so good to finally meet you..."


	12. Princess Found

**_Chapter 11 : Princess Found_**

****The interior land scape of the Southern Pole was one of the harshest and unforgiving environments nature had to offer. It barren landscape, coupled with its sub-zero temperature that lasted year round made it impossible for any one or any thing for that matter, to survive. Even the many water tribes that called the south pole their home, would never dare venture into the interior of this frozen, barren waste land for any reason. Not even the many raids done by the Fire Nation during the war, would make them go inland. Only the toughest of creatures, called this place home and even they would be forced to find some sort of shelter when the weather became too much for them. But when night fell, then thing would really become chilly and tonight was no exception. Most of the south pole's animal residents were either asleep or were on the hunt for their nights kill. The weather that night was calm and silent, as the full moon bathe the area with a pale blue light. But this silence was soon disturbed but the sound of metal and iron parts clanging together on the soft white snow as well as the sound of a steam engine driving them forward. These sounds of course, came from 2 Fire Nation built tanks that were now crossing over the frozen tundra, on their way to a near by Water Tribe village and to their exiled princess.

It was just earlier in that day, that one of the crewmen of the _Fire Dragon_ had spotted Princess Azula standing outside one of the many homes that were located just outside the village. It was then a plan was hatched by the master mind behind the trip to the south pole to _"__Rescue__" _the former Fire Nation princess. The plan was to head to the village using the 2 tanks that were on board the Fire Dragon. When they arrived, the tanks would stop just outside the village and wait for Ju Long as he, along with some of the men would go up to the home and ask Azula to come back with them. They would say that the people of the Fire Nation wanted her back and that Zuko had fallen out of favor. They would ask her to come back to take her rightful place as the new _Fire Lord _and lead her people into a new, glorious age. This, of course was all just a ruse, but Ju Long saw no reason to tell her royal highness that. The trip to the village did not take long and in about 30 minutes, they had reached the outskirts of said village. Ju Long now dressed in his finest regal garb , along with his body guard and several of the Dragon's crewmen, stepped out of one of the tanks and with Hong in the lead, made their way to the house where he had seen Azula.

"Are you sure that this is where you saw her?" Ju Long asked. "Yes it is, this was where I saw her!" Hong replied, pointing to a house that was not too far a way.

As Ju Long made his way up to to the front door, a smile curled upon his lips. He was just a few feet away from his ultimate prize, the one person that would return the Fire Nation back to it's former glory and she was just behind this door. As he knocked on the door, his heart raced as he waited for it to open and when it did, he was met by a woman that was a bit younger than he was and she was dressed in he traditional female water tribe garb. But he could care less about her, as hie eyes soon locked on to a young woman in her early Twenties, that had long black hair and amber eyes and was also dressed in water tribe garb as well. He went up to her, bowed and said... "Princess Azula, it is so good to finally meet you."

Azula for her part, just stood there and watched this man, who ever he was, bow to her and call her by her former title. "Excuse me sir, but just who are you and who do you know who I am?"

"My Princess, my name is Ju Long of the Deshi family."He said, as he bowed once again. At this point, Kodda and their 2 children came out of their bed rooms. Alerted by the noise coming from the other room and when they entered, Kodda saw Morra and Zura/Azula. But what really caught his attention, was the old man bowing to Zura and dressed in Fire Nation garb.

"Morra, what's going on? Who is this guy?" he asked, gesturing to Ju Long. Ju Long just sneered at Kodda's question. "I...I really don't know. He just came here and announced himself as Ju Long od some kind of Deshi family." Morra replied.

"But why is he bowing to Zura?" he asked, as he and the children came up to her. Long crocked an eye brow at the name. " Zura? My princess, why do these simple minded peasants call you by that name?" Ju Long asked the now stunned woman.

"Why is he call Zura, 'Princess' mom?" Loka, Morra's daughter, asked.

"It is because she is a princess, child." Long answered for her, "Her name is, Princess Azula. Daughter of Ozai and the soon to be Fire Lord of the Fire Nation."

" Fire Lord? Look mister Deshi, I think you have our friend confused with some one else." Kodda spoke up, " There's no way that Zura could be your... princess, as it were. Besides, every one knows that that monster is locked away at the Boiling Rock and that she is insane. And even then, why would you want her back as a Fire Lord when she has gone mad?"

Azula was taken a back by her friend's statement. It was a great shock indeed to here Kodda, a man who had allowed her to stay in he and his wife's home, refer to her as a monster and insane. But then again, it was only Morra and Kenga who really knew who she was. Kodda had no idea that the woman that he was talking about, was the same person that he had become friends with.

"Be silent peasant!" Ju Long shot back. Kodda was about to advance on him, but Morra held his shoulder and kept him in place. Ju Long then turned his attention back to Azula/Zura and said...

"Your Highness, your brother has betrayed the people of the fire nation. He has allowed our one mighty war machine to fall into disrepair and our enemies to gain an advantage over us. He is allowing persons from the earth kingdom to take control of our industrial might an taking away what is ours! He is weakening our armies and leaving us open to invasion. He is sending our best generals and admirals to prison and placing unfit, inexperienced commanders in their place. He is running our once glorious Nation into the ground and the people are fed up of his policies and are demanding that a new fire lord be installed and take his place. That is why I had set it upon myself that I make it my mission to find you, so that you can return to your home and return our once proud nation back to its place as a world power and make it into the vision that your great grand father wanted it to be! And with you as our leader, it can happen!" Ju Long preached to her.

" Look, how much times must I tell you that she is not your princess! Her name is Zura and she is from the Earth Kingdom! Not your Fire Nation!" Kodda spat out, "Now... I am going to ask you to leave my friend and my family ALONE and go back to... where ever your from! Or I will make you leave, do you under stand me?"

"Oh no," a new voice said, " she really is the princess of the royal family of the fire nation and for the last few year, she has been living in the south pole a a free woman." when every one looked to see who it was, they saw a man dressed in a dark brown robe and he has a metallic mask that covered his eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" Ju Long barked at his body guard, "I thought I told you to wait out side with the rest of the men.?

"Don't worry about the men, t old them that you said to go ahead and raid the coal depot in town and that I will stay here to... keep an eye on you" the body guard replied.

"I said to do no such thing! What in the name of Azulon were you thinking! Have you forgotten just who do you work for?"

"Shut up old man!" The masked man yelled. " I am not working for you any more! I got what I came for."

"What do you mean by that?"

" Let me tell you a little story Long. You see Deshi, at one time I was apart of a group of men that were at one time tasked with protecting the city of Ba Sing Se. But thanks to your 'princess' here, she cause some of my team mates to betray our leader and cause our city to fall to the Fire Nation. Thanks to her, the city was raped and many of the people were killed and even though I stayed in the city and helped with the resistance, when the city was freed and the king returned to power, I was banished just because I was linked to the group. Thanks to her, the people thought I was a traitor and they drove me out of the city along with my family!" the body guard said, " After that, my wife left me and she took my daughter with her. I have not seen them in 9 years.9 YEARS!. But thanks to my former employer here... I shall now take my revenge on you!"

" Now listen here! You still work for me and this is my mission! So if you want to be paid, I suggest th-" that was all the noble man said as the body guard lifted up his left hand and sent an iron fist at him , hitting the noble man in his face with such a force, that his head exploded! Leaving his lifeless body to slump to the floor and with that, _Ju Long Deshi... _was no more.

Loka screamed at the sight of Ju Long's headless body hitting the floor, as a pool of blood flowed from the body and formed a pool. Morra was holding on to her now crying daughter and shielding her from the horrific sight, as Kodda did the same for his son. Azula for her part, just stood there in a shocked silence. Her amber eyes were locked on the man who had not only claimed that he was a victim of her past actions, but he had just killed some one who was just minutes before, telling her that she was going to be the Fire Lord. She was at a lost for words as the former Body Guard took of his mask and revealed a man that had dark brown hair and brown eyes. But the most notable feature about him, was the tattoo on his forehead and when Azula saw it, she knew just why this man was out to get her. For the mark on his fore head read _"Dai Li" _

The Dai Li were once responsible for the protection of the culture of Ba Sing Se, but over the years they became corrupted and began silencing any one in the city of speaking of the fire nation and of the war. But one day, they betrayed the Earth King and alined themselves with the Fire Nation and Azula . As a result, the city fell and the Dai Li were now working for the Fire Nation. But that was not to last, as one day before Shozin's Comet, Azula banished all of them. Sighting that they could not be trusted. But things really got worse for them when they tried to return to the Earth Kingdom. News of the Dai Li's treason spread around the Earth Kingdom like wild fire and when persons found out just who there members were, they would hunt them down and either capture and imprison them, or kill them sight on seen. And since most of the Dai Li fought back, they were usually killed. Even those who had not not betrayed the Earth Kingdom and fought against the occupation were not safe. Known members of the Dai Li were driven out of the Earth Kingdom, but not before the Earth King had the name _'Dai Li' _tattooed on their fore heads so that people would know of the shame that they had brough on to themselves. As a result, they were driven out of many of the villages and cities that they would try to make new lives in and not even their families were safe . But now, one of these banished agents was about to get his revenge on the one person that was responsible for all of this happening and he would make sure that Azula would pay dearly indeed.

"Zura..." Kodda spoke up, "Please tell me this is all a mistake and that you are not this person that they say you are." but all Azula could do was bow her head in shame and say "I am sorry, but he is right. My name is Azula and I am... was a member of the Eire Nation royal Family."

Kodda's,as well as his children jaws hit the floor. They all could not believe that Zura, a woman that they had come to know as a close family friend, was in fact, the infamous Princess Azula, a.k.a. _The Butcher of Ba Sing Se. _" Morra... you knew who she was and you let her into our home?" Kodda said, with disbelief in his vioce.

"Please Kodda,"Azula pleaded, "Don't be mad at her. The only reason that she did not tell you any thing was because she was worried for her family's safety. She wanted to make sure that if any thing were to happen, you all would be safe. But believe me when I say that being with your family was the happiest I had been in so many years and I always thought of you all as my adoptive family." she began to tear up a bit. When Kodda heard this and saw the expression on her now frightened face, he could not help but to calm down a bit and for some reason, he could not find a reason to be mad at Azula or his wife. Azula then faced the man and said, "I do not care about what you do to me, but please, do not harm my friend. They are innocent and have done nothing to you."

The former Dai Li agent allowed what she said to sink in and said, " Fine, I will not harm them. But your coming with me and if you try any thing... " he left that statement dangling, as he recalled the fist that he used to kill Ju Long. Azula just nodded , as she brought up her hands and proceded to walk out the door, with the Dai Li agent following close behind her. All Morra and her family could do, was watch helplessly as their friend left their home and disappear into the night.

As Azula walked , she could not help but to think that she had brought this on to her self. Here was a man who had lost every thing because she had made his team mates betray their Kingdom and as a result, they had become some what of a outcast among their own people. She could not blame this man for wanting to kill her, it was what she thought she deserved and there was nothing she could do about it. She could try to escape, but where would she go? She could not go back to Morra and her family. From what she could tell from Kodda's reaction, she may not even welcomed back. So lost in thought, she did not notice that they had arrived in the village center. She was then forced to kneel as he began to speak.

"Princess Azula... for years I have been dreaming about this moment. Dreaming about when I finally killed the Butcher. I lost my life and my family all because of you and now, not only will I get my revenge, but I will get justice for all those that you killed. Do you have any last words?" Azula just remained silent , as her head hung low. "Fine then. Just remember, this is going to be a lot less painful than what you have done to your other victims. So your you are getting off easy." the agent raised his fist up to her head and Azula could smell the blood, Ju Long's blood, coming from the iron fist. She closed her eyes as he brought up his fist to up to strike.

But then, the former Dai Li agent was struck with a wall of water and ice, and was sent flying back and into one of the near by market carts. Causing it to collapse on top of him! When Azula looked to see where it came from, she saw both Morra and Kodda standing in the other side of the square. Morra ran up to her and hugged her saying... "Azula! Are you alright? Did he harm you?"

" No he didn't, by what are you doing here?" Azula said, a bit dazed by what was happening, "But what is Kodda doing here?"

"So this is the thanks I get for saving my wife's friend's life?" Kodda said with a grin, as he walked up to her with a harpoon in his hand. "But there's no time for talk now, looks like your friend there is about to get up. We have to get out of here!" Azula nodded in agreement and with Morra helping her, the 3 of them ran towards the direction of the harbor. It was at this point that the Dai Li got up from the ruble that was once some one's cabbage cart and saw the trio running away. He was puzzled just why those 2 water benders would want to save her life. But he did not waste time on that thought, he had a revenge on his mind...

... and he would not be denied.

**_A/N: _**_The story is making its last laps and I am glad to see people enjoying it. But now, I need your help. What would you like to see happen to Azula at the end of this fic? **PM **your thoughts on this and I will see what I can work up. As always leave a review if you please, and thank you.- UH-60_


	13. Fire and Brimstone

_**Chapter 12 :**__**Fire and Brimstone **_

Running through the deserted streets of the Water Tribe village, Azula along with her friend and her husband made their way towards the water front as fast as they could. Just minutes before, Azula had been rescued by her friends from an former Dai Li agent, that had lost every thing because she had made his colleges betray their own nation and as a result, had become the second most hated persons in the Earth Kingdon. Thee most hated of course, being herself. For a little while, it looked liked the former Dai Li agent would have gotten his revenge on her, and he would of, if not for Morra using her water bending and sending the Dai Li into a cart that had cabbages in it. Azula could only imagine that the owner of said cart, being very upset at the sight of all his cabbages being destroyed. But what really got her thinking, was the fact that it was both Morra and Kodda that had came to her rescue. She thought that Kodda would want nothing to do with her, especially after she was outed as being the infamous _'Butcher of Ba Sing Se'_, she did not know what made him want to save her, but she was very grateful non the less. But she could not dwell on that thought, for somewhere behind them, was a man that was hell bent on her destruction. She would just have to thank him later. With in a few minutes, they came to the wharf that was the village's harbor.

"So, where do we go?" Morra asked her husband, as she gasped for breath. " There!" Kodda replied, as he pointed towards an old Earth Kingdom vessel that was tied along side one of the piers. " If we can lure him on board the ship, we can trap him there until we can get help."

"It's not going to be easy,"Azula said, "if I remember right, he will be very dangerous. And even if there is no earth around, he still has those fist with him."

"True, but if we can get him on board... AH!" Kodda screamed, as a iron fist came in and struck him in the leg. Sending the large man to ground in a heap. "KODDA!" Morra screamed, as she and Azula were both by her wounded husband's side in a flash. Kodda's leg was in a bad shape, the force of the impact was so great, that his leg had broken and from what Morra could see, his leg bone had punctured the flesh and sticking out. As his pants was mow moist with his blood. Even though Morra was a skilled healer, even she doubted that her healing could be of any help to her husband. When Azula looked to see where the fish had come from, she saw the Dai Li agent in a fighting stance , as he recalled his fist.

"You should not have tried to escape, Princess." he called out, "and your friends have only made things worse for themselves, by helping you escape."

"Leave them out of this! This is only between you and me!" Azula shot back, " it's me you want. Not them!"

" they helped you escape and any one alined with you must be punished!" and with that, he launched both of his fist at Morra. Morra's eyes were wide and she could not move, as she saw the 2 deadly objects come at her. But as it looked like she would be struck down, a pillar of orange fire came in and swatted the fist down and when Morra looked, she saw that Azula had taken up a fighting stance of her own. But the thing that really got her attention was the look on her young friend's face. It was a look that Morra had never seen before, it was a cross between anger and cold fury, and when she saw this... it sent chills up her spine.

"So... the real Princess Azula shows herself." he sneered, " Just as well, I was hoping for a fight!"

"You should not have done that!" Azula growled dangerously. The Dai Li just yelled, as he recalledhis hist and sent them flying once again. This time, towards Azula!

Azula jumped out of the way and sent another fire ball at the agent, who skillfully cartwheeled out of the way and recalled both of the fist. Only to send them flying at her again. Azula just dived under them ans whipped her arms out and sent 2 more fire balls at her adversary, but this time, one of said balls struck him and sent him flying back into a near by wall. When he recovered , he saw that his quarry was gone and was now making her way onto a near by ship. Not to be denied in his quest for vengeance, he got up and ran toward said vessel. Completely ignoring Morra, who was now using her healing powers to make her husband as comfortable as she could.

When he made it on board, he lost track of Azula and he began to look around. But all he found on the top deck, were a few empty barrels and wooden crates. Apparently, the vessel had been abandoned of a while. Either the crew had jumped ship, or they had some kind of falling out with the vessel's owner and walked off the job. But he could not concern himself with such thoughts right now, he had a princess to find... and kill. He then heard a small comotion from behind himand when he looked, he saw that a door leading it the ship was opened. Thinking that she had gone that way, he ran into after his prize. He was close to getting his vengeance, he could feel it.

Azula hid quietly inside on of the many compartments of the vessel. It was dark, very dark and quiet. The only sound that she could hear, was the quickening pace of her own heart beat,as her sweat dampened her fore head. This was a feeling that she had not felt since she was taken from her cell at the Boiling Rock and placed on board the _Rock Fish, _all those years ago. It was a feeling that she did not normally get, but was all to familiar with. It was _Fear_. Some where on this vessel, was a person that wanted her dead and he was not going to stop until she was. For a moment, she could see her life flash before her amber tinted eyes. She could see all the things that had lead her up to this point. From her pushing her friend _Ty Lee_ in to a pond , to when she heard that her mother had been banished. From when her father sent her on her mission to kill the _Avatar, _to when she suffered her complete mental break down at the capital. All these memories and more , Azula saw as she was crouched under a table. At first, she thought that this was one last cruel joke that the spirits were playing on her, making her see all of the horrible things that she had done in her life. But then she soon realized that it was just a reminder of how far she had come from being that monster that she saw, to a young woman that had her whole life ahead of her, now that she was getting a second chance at life. Then suddenly, a new sensation came over her and it seemed to wash away all her fear and was replaced with a new feeling that she could not even put in to words. Then Azula did something that not even she could not explain. She got out from under her table and exited the compartment.

Azula was not going to allow another ghost from her pass, to destroy the life that she worked so hard for. She was not about to make that same mistake twice. She was going to find her tormenter and put a stop to this any way possible.

As she walked down the hall way, Azula could hear the Dai Li searching for her. "AZULA!" he bellowed, "you are only making this harder on your self! You can not escape, just come out and let us finish this!" But Azula remained silent. "AZULA!" he called out again. But still she remained silent, as she began to make her way down the darkened hall way. Her only source of light, coming from the moon light that shown through the spaces of the wooden deck above her. She could of used her bending to see in the dark, but that would have only given away her location on the ship and her only advantage that she had over him. As she turned a corner, Azula could hear him searching for her and from what she could hear, hew was getting very upset to say the least. Every so often, she could hear him scream in anger, followed by the the sound of a crash and wood being broken. But then, every thing went silent. Azula tensed up, but still continued to walk down the hall. She had to get off the ship and back to her friends and fast. Then Azula jumped back, just seconds before an iron fist crashed through the door next to her and embed itself in the bulk head, creating a sizable dent in it. Just seconds later, another fist came through and just like before, it narrowly missed her by a few inches. Like lighting, Azula turned and launched 2 fire balls into said room but when she looked, she saw that no one was inside at all! She was about to leave, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her back left shoulder and a force pushing her to the floor. She screamed out in pain, as she could feel said object sink deeper into her flesh.

"You are getting a bit sloppy, Princess." he sneered, as he came out out of the same room that Azula had torched. "Do you like my new toy?" Azula could not speak, as the pain was almost too much for her. "I asked if you like my new toy?" he said again, as he took his foot and stamped down on to the metal claw on her shoulder. Producing a painful yell from hid pray. " I had it made just for you. It is designed to cause the maximum amount of pain to its victim. Tell me, how does it fell to know that you brought this on to your self? Tell me, how does it fell to have someone your hurt become your executioner?"

Azula could not answer, the pain was just to great, as she could fell her blood run down her side. " Oh , I would not try to move around if I were you. The more you move, the more damage it does to you. Quite ingenious if you ask me." he then leaned down and said, " Thanks to you, I lost every thing. But at least I will have some form oh happiness, with the fact that I killed you. Isn't it funny that it is one of your former allies that ends writes the final chapter of your twisted life?" but as he talked, he did not notice that Azula had managed to position one of her hands to face him and with an painful yell, she sent a rather large fire ball at him, causing the agent to scream in pain and cover his face with his hands. He was in so much pain, that Azula was able to throw him off of her and run away. All the while, the metal claw still buried in her back.

After a few minutes of running, she saw the the exit and ran onto the the deck. As she did though, she could hear her tormenter screaming behind her in pain. She was almost off the ship, when she could feel the metal claw rip out of her back. Causing her to scream out in pain once again and fall to the deck. Still in pain, Azula could see the Dai Li walking towards her and she could very well see the the patch of burned flesh that now covered his face. Blistered and red. She could smell his charred skin, as he slowly walked up to her . Azula could see the crazed look in his eyes as he approached her , holding the metallic claw that was just moments before, impaled in her shoulder. Apparently the Dai Li had used his skill to rip out the claw from her back and in doing so, ripped out a piece of her flesh. But with all this, she was still able to stand up and face him. Just then, he sent back out the claw to strike her. But Azula was able to roll out of the way and allowed said claw to impale itself into the ship's super structure and when he tried to recall it, the claw would not come. It was wedged to tightly into the hull. It was at this point, he noticed Azula standing in front of him. Her water tribe garb was now stained with her own blood ans just by seeing her posture, he could tell that she was still in a lot of pain and was weakening. Then, Azula made a jump kick and sent 2 fire balls at him. Both of which he easily avoided by rolling out of the way and sending both of his metal fist at her. Azlua was able to avoid the first one, but she misjudged one of her steps and was struck in her arm by the other one. Breaking it instantly and sending her to the ground in a heap with a scream of pain.

"Well, well." the Dai Li said, as he walked up to the now helpless fire bender, " it looks like that I have beaten the mighty Princess Azula." Azula just bit back her pain and watched him as he came up to her. "So this is how it ends for you. Not in the Fire Nation Palace with your blasted brother, but here in the south pole. You know, I think when I am done here, I will go after your brother next. There are a lot of people that would like to see him dead." He then brought produced a healthy looking dagger from his robe and said, " I was going to kill you quickly and painlessly, but I think killing you slowly and painfully would be even better." Azula looked on as he bent down a got ready to strike, all the while never showing any emotion on her face. She would not give him that pleasure. But as it looked like he would finally get his revenge, a growling gray mass tackled the former Dai Li agent to the ground and began to rip away at one of his arms. When Azula looked up to see what was going on, she saw a familiar Polar Bear Dog attacking her would be executioner.

"Bao!" Azula yelled to her companion and friend. The Polar Bear Dog stopped it's assault on her target , went up to her mistress and proceeded to happily lick her face. Apparently, Morra and Kodda weren't the only ones that wanted to save her.

"Oh my! Azula!" a woman screamed, when Azula looked, she saw Morra running towards her. Within seconds, the female healer was at her side and using her skills to ease Azula's pain.

"Morra..." Azula said weakly, "Where's Kodda.?"

"Shhh, take it easy. Kodda is fine, Kenga's with him. Lets get you off of this ship." Morra replied, as she hooked Azula's good arm around her neck and proceeded to walk down the gang plank and off the ship. Bao trailing behind them. But none of them noticed that the agent had recovered from from Bao's attack and gotten up to strike again. But his groan gave him away and the trio turned just in time to see him send one of his fist and strike Morra in the arm. Sending her to the ground in pain. Bao growled and began to charge him, but as she jumped to tackle him, the agent swung at the hound and sent the beast flying into a crate with a whimper. Upon seeing her 2 closest friends being attacked and struck down, an overwhelming rage came over the former princess and ignoring the pain from her shoulder, sent a rather large pillar of fire at the agent. The Dai Li's eyes widened with horror, as the raging fire storm came at him and within seconds, he was completely engulfed by the blaze. He screamed and danced around in pain, as the fire consumed his robe and began to burn away at his now bare flesh. He was so consumed with pain, that he did not see the ship's railings behind him and before he knew it, he went over the side of the ship went into the water. Never to be seen again after that.

Azula just watched, as the poor man went over the side and saw the orange glow of his fire disappear as he hit the water. She just stood there in silence and breathe heavily for a few moments, before the pain took over her body again and fell to the deck, out cold.

**_A/N:_**_Sorry if this chapter is a bit short, but people wanted to see Azula kick a-. So I focused on that in this chapter. Again, please review and thank you. UH-60._


	14. Revelations

_**Chapter 13 : Revelations **_

Dawn was now breaking at the south pole, as the 2 war tanks returned to the inlet that hid the rouge Fire Navy vessel, _Fire Dragon. _Just the night before, the 2 war machines had gone into a near by water tribe village to 'rescue' their former Fire Nation princess and return her to the Fire Nation. Where she would return to the throne and "_Return the Fire Nation to its former glory."_ Or at lest that was what Ju Long Deshi, the planner of this mission said any way. They had arrived at the village late at night and watched as Ju Long went into the home that it was alleged that Azula was seen. But as Ju Long entered the home, his body guard said that he would keep an eye on his employer, while they went on and raided the coal depot that was located near the water front. Saying that Ju Long said it was alright if they did so. Not even thing twice, the 2 tanks and their crews went off to raid said depot and left Ju Long and his body guard behind. Thinking that they would pick them after they had gotten the coal for their ship. Within a few minutes, the 2 tanks arrived at the depot and they proceeded to break into the building and load up the tanks with their ill gotten gain. After about 20 minutes, they had loaded up the tanks and were on their way back to pick up Ju Long and possibly, their princess. But when they arrived, they saw that the house looked empty. Curious about this, Hong, the man who had spotted the Princess earlier that day, went to investigate this new development. But what he found would haunt him for the rest of his life. For in the living room on the floor, was the headless body of Ju Long Deshi and it was laying in a pool of blood. Even though his head was gone, Hong could still tell it was the old noble man by the regal robes on the body. It was the same robes that Deshi had on when he went into the house.

He was about to investigate the body more when another one of his men ran and saw the body. After getting over the shock of seeing the the headless body, he said that something was going on in the village and that they should get back to the ship and fast. Thinking that they had been found out, the rouge crew left the headless body of Ju Long behind and made their way back to the _Fire Dragon _as fast as they could. They returned to the ship just as the amber rays of the morning sun began to peek over the horizon. The tanks were quickly rolled back on board the war ship with their new found gain still inside of them. As this was going on, Hong went into a meeting with Captain Hue and informed him about the fate of Ju Long Deshi...

"Are you sure it was him?" Hue asked his crewman, "How did it happen, who did it?"

"It was him alright," Hong replied, " his was gone, but the body had on the same robes he had when he went into the house."

"And the body guard told you that Deshi said for you to go ahead and raid the depot, while he stay behind and keep an eye on things?"

"That is correct sir," Hong replied, " and when we returned, the house was empty and his body was on the floor. We were about to go investigate when there was some kind of commotion in the village and we were forced to return to the ship."

Hue allowed what his young crewman had said. Just why would Ju Long's body guard send his crew to get coal, when he very well knew that they did not need it? Yes they had originally planed to raid the storage facility, but that was only because they had planed to stay a bit longer at the south pole. But when they found Azula in the same village that the depot was located, they scratched that plan and decided to just collect their princess and high tail it back to Fire Fountain city/North Chung Ling. It was not that Hue was ungrateful for the coal that they now had, it was just that, just why would he send the crew off on a mission that did not need to be done?

It was then Hue remembered just when he saw said Body Guard attack and kill 2 of his men. The Body Guard had used 2 iron fist to effortlessly kill them and when he was done, he recalled them back to his fist. He could remember seeing this sort of weapon before, but at the time, the could not recall just where he had seen them in use. But then remembered about hearing stories that came out of the Fire Nation not too long after the fall of Ba Sing Se and Azula's triumphant return to the Fire Nation. He heard of how she had managed to gain the loyalty of a group of Earth Benders that were skilled fighters and that had betrayed their so called leader, as well as delivered the massive city to her. But them remembered of hearing about that same groups banishment by a then, unstable Princess and that when they returned to the Earth Kingdom, they were either imprisoned or hunted down and killed. While their were still rumors floating around that a a few escaped to the Fire Nation and became solders of fortune. Either as hired guns or as personal body guards. It was then that the aging captain put 2 and 2 together and came to a shocking revelation. Ju Long's body guard was in fact, one of the Dai Li agents that had gone into hiding and judging by what he just heard from his crew man, the agent killed Deshi and considering that Azula was in part responsible for the Dai Li's banishment from the Earth Kingdom, the agent would have more than likely gone after and possibly killed Azula. While the commotion in the village, was the result said agent getting his revenge. If that were true, then there was no real reason to stay any longer at the south pole. Hue just sighed and said...

"Mr. Hong, I think we have over stayed our welcome here. Sooner or later the villagers are going to realize that a few tonnes of their coal have gone missing. That means they are most likely going to look for and find us. I think this would be a good time to weigh anchor and head back home. What say you?"

"But what about Ju Long's body Guard, or the Princess?" Hong asked. Hue just shrugged and said, " Something tells me that they are no longer our concern." Hong just nodded at his captain's response and exited the captain's study and mad his way to the bridge to relay Hue's order's to depart the pole.

Within 15 minutes, the _Fire Dragon _was under way. On it's way back to the Fire Nation and North Chung Ling. But as the vessel steamed out of the small inlet, the did not notice that their movements were being watched from afar...

" Target moving out of inlet and heading out to sea. Speed, 2 knots. Range, 300 meters." said the water tribe warrior, as he looked through the periscope of the water powered submarine. One of many that were now in service with the Southern Water tribe military.

"Aye, course and speed charted. Are you sure that it is the Fire Dragon?" as second man asked, as he walked up to the younger man. " Yes sir! Ship's design specs shows it to be a Dragon Hawk-class warship." the younger man replied. "Do we engage?"

"No. When we surface, send a messenger hawk to Captain Yong of the _Iroh. _Let them deal with it." the older man said, referring to the captain of a near by Fire Navy vessel that patrolled the area. "I think it should be the fire nation, that should deal with their rouge vessel. Set course for home."

"Aye captain. Setting course back to _Kya city."_ the young man said, as he and the other water benders with him powered the iron vessel back to their home base.

_**Kya City, Capital of the Unified Southern Water Tribes. 2 days later... **_

Azula did not know where she was or how she got here. Her last memory was of standing on board an Earth Kingdom freighter, watching her would be assailant flail around in pain as flames consumed his body, before he went over the side of the ship. Just moments before, the same person had seriously wounded not only her, but her 2 healers/friends, as well as her loyal Polar Bear Dog, Bao. In a fit of rage, she had sent a large pillar of flame at the former Dai Li agent and as a result, she had quite possibly killed him. After that, everything was a blur, as the pain to her body soon became too much for her to handle. At certain times, she would open her eyes and every time she did, Azula would find herself at different points. One moment , was on the deck of the ship. The next thing she knew, she was being carried of the ship in a stretcher, by a group of men. The next thing she saw when she opened her eyes, were the villagers watching her as she was being carried through the village. All of them had looks of disbelief and concern on their faces. She closed her eyes again and when she opened them again, Azula could tell that she was being loaded onto a water tribe vessel and that Kenga was with her. She tried to speak to him, but everything went black again and the next thing she knew, she was in a bed in a room that she was not familiar with.

The room itself, was far larger than what she had at her home in the hidden bay. Everything was white and made out of ice. Except for her bed, which was covered with thick brown fur to give her warmth. Directly in front of her, was a window that allowed the sun's light to enter the room and from her position, Azula could see the sky line of a major water tribe city out side. It was then Azula realized that she was no longer in the small water tribe village where her healers/friends lived.

"Oh no! Morra, Kodda!" she then thought about her friends. The last time she had seen them, Kodda was nursing a badly damaged leg, while Morra was struck in the arm and sent spinning onto the ground. Both of which, were caused by a former Dai Li agent and his metal fist. Azula just hung her head low, as the images of her friends in pain played out in her head. Here she was, in an unknown room in another water tribe village and possibly in a prison awaiting to be either sent back to the Boiling Rock, or be handed over to some shadow group to be executed for the crimes that she so blindly did. But yet, he only thoughts right now was not of her possible imprisonment or death, but of her 2 friends that had risked their lives to save her life. What happened to them? What would happen to them now that Azula was outed? But most of all, she wondered just what would happen to Morra's and Kodda's 2 children if their parent were... were... She did not even want to think about that. azule may have been able to live with the fact that she would forever be known as a monster and butcher, but she doubted that she could ever accept that she allowed he healer and friend to die so horribly and all because of a past mistake. Then she began to wonder just how many people knew that she was at the south pole and just how many of them would come after her? As far as she knew, the Dai Li agent could have been just the first of many that would come and try to kill her. She could care less if they wanted to kill her, what really got Azula worried is just how many innocent people would get hurt in the process.

So lost in thought, she did not notice that some one had entered the her room...

"Azula..." the man said. When Azula looked to see who it was, she saw Kenga standing by the door, "How are you feeling, kid?" he asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Kenga..?" Azula said weakly, "Where am I?"

"Take it easy Zula. Your body took a lot of abuse from that agent." Kenga replied, as he came up beside her and sat down on the chair , that was next to her bed.

"Morra? Kodda?" Azula asked fearfully. Kenga just held up his hand and said, "Do not worry. Both Morra and Kodda are fine."

"and..?" Azula trailed off. Kenga smiled and said, "Bao is fine too. She's staying with Lin, who is also watching Morra's children." That piece of good news, placed Azula's mind at ease. But then Azula got a thought that made her shudder. "What... what happened to the Dai Li?" she asked fearfully. Kenga just got a somber look and said...

"He's dead. His body was burned beyond recognition, when it was fished out of the bay." he repiled. Azula then got a look of horror on her face. It was the first time in years, that Azula had taken some ones life and she hoped that when she came to the south pole, she would not ever have to do such a thing again. But apparently, that was not the case today. She was in an stunned silence when Kenga spoke up.

" Azula... it was not your fault. He attacked Morra and your self and you acted in self defense . It was either you and him and you chose to fight back. You not only saved your self, but both Morra's and Kodda's. You should be proud of that fact, alone." The healer tried to reassure her.

"What now?" Azula said, without any emotion in her voice. "What do you mean by that?" her healer/friend asked.

" I had to fire bend to defend myself. The village now knows that I am a fire bender. What's going to happen now?" She asked, a touch of fear could be heard in her voice.

" You don't have to worry about that. It has been covered."

"What do you mean by that?" Azula asked, sounding a bit puzzled now. Kenga just took in a deep breath and said...

"Apparently, you were not the only ones to be visited by the Fire Nation. On the morning that we left the village, it was discovered that the coal storage depot had been broken into and that 7 tonnes were missing." Kenga told her.

"But what does that have to do with me and what happened?" Azula asked him. But Kenga just told her. " Well, the official story would be that pirates attempted to raid the depot in secret and were found out when you interfered and they came after you. The fire bending was a result of said pirates trying to kill you."

" But... but what about Deshi? Or the Dai Li agent?" Azula asked him. Kenga answered he question and said, " The Dai Li was a hired gun for the pirates and was killed when he got caught up in one of the fire bender's attacks. As for Deshi... it turns out that he is... was wanted in the fire nation for treason. The fact that he was in the company of the pirates would only show that he was as guilty as the fire nation says he was. Especially since the pirates were from the rouge vessel, the Fire Dragon. He was killed by Kodda, when Deshi and the Dai Li tried to kidnap Morrra. But the agent wounded Kodda and you went after him after he fled." Kenga said simply.

Azula could only let what Kenga said set in. The cover story that Kenga had given her was very complex, to say the least. But she had to admit, a raid by Fire Nation pirates on the village did sound very believable and would hide the fact that the fire bending any one saw, came from her. But what really got her attention was the fact that Kodda would be the one to say that he killed Deshi and not his body guard betraying him. But she guessed that it would have been for the best that he said so, because no one was to know the real circumstances that lead to the nobleman's demise. By all accounts, she should have been relieved that her secret identity was safe and that there would be nothing keeping her from returning to the village to live out the rest of her life in peace. But there was still one thing that had her worried. Deshi and his body guard had managed to find her, even though every one thought that she was still locked up at the _Boiling Rock prison. _Ju Long wanted to use her as a tool to bring about the removal of her brother as Fire Lord. But Azula was not stupid. She knew that the reforms that her brother had brought about, were helping in the reconstruction of the world at large and Azula saw this first had when she first saw the village that she would soon call home. Azula knew that Deshi was only planning to use her a a puppet, while it would be he(or some one else) that would be calling the shots.

But it was Deshi's body guard that really got her thinking. He had actually tricked the would be nobleman in to leading him to her, in an attempt to get revenge on Azula for destroying his life... and he almost succeeded. She began to wounder just how many people knew where she was and how many of them wanted her dead. A sense of dread began to fall upon her. It was not that she was afraid of what would happen to her, Azula was more worried what might happen to the people that she had come to think as her _"Second Family"_. She would never forgive her self if any thing were to happen to them. Even now Azula was feeling a great sense of guilt, as one of her healers and her husband were seriously wounded by and enraged Dai Li agent. There had to be a way that she could help protect her friends, but how? The only way that she could protect her friends, was to leaver the south pole.

But where would she go? Where could she go? She was one of the most heated persons in the world, she was on the 'hit list' of every Earth Kingdom citizen and she could no longer stay at the south pole. The Fire Nation looked like the only logical place that she could go, but that too was shot out of the water, simply because she was Princess Azula and persons would try to use her for their own personal gains. It was like the only way that her friends and her brother would be safe, is if she was dead.

"Azula, are you alright?" Kenga asked, "You zoned out their for a minute. Is there something wrong?" Azula just shook her head and said, " Kenga, is there any way that I can send a message to my brother?"

"Yea, by messenger hawk. Is there a problem?" he asked, sounding a bit concerned.

" No, it's... it's just that I want to tell him something."

" What do you want to tell him?"

"I want him to kill me..."

_**A/N:**__ Sorry if this chapter is a bit long winded, but I think it was needed to advance the story. Special thanks to __**N3phtys**__ for all the advice he/she has given. As always, leave a review and tell me what you think and thank you.- UH-60. _


	15. Live and Let Die

_**Chapter 14 : Live and Let Die **_

There was a damp and somber atmosphere in the Fire Nation, as the Fire Navy vessel, _Fire's Fury, _sailed into the the port of the Fire Nation capital. The crew was dressed in their full ceremonial uniforms, as they lined the full length of the vessel's deck. All of them had somber expressions on their faces, as the vessel eased itself up to one of the many piers that made up the port. As the ship came to a stop, some of the men went below decks, while the remainder of the crew lined up in two rows, leading off the ship and onto the wharf where a striped down carriage, pulled by 2 Camelelephants decorated with flowers and jewelery waited to receive its passenger. About five minutes later, the same men that had went below decks re-emerged from the ship's hold, the six of them now carrying a dark red casket that had the symbol of the Fire Nation royal family on it. The crew of the Fire Navy war ship saluted the casket, as it made its way off the ship and was loaded onto the carriage. There it was covered with the Fire Nation national flag and with one final salute from the captain, the carriage lurched forward and began it's slow journey to the center of the capital. No sooner than the carriage entered the city limits, they encountered the most remarkable sight . As the entire length of the route were lined with people, men women and children, all wanting to see the carriage and it's lone passenger, as she made her way towards the Royal Palace for the very last time. Many in the crowd showed no emotions as the carriage passed them, while little children too young to know about the occupants history only looked on in wonder. Some in the crowd silently cursed and praised the sight they were seeing, and still others could not believe what they were seeing.

But for one person, the sight of her casket making its way towards his palace was all too real. As Zuko looked on from his vantage point, he still could not believe that this was how his sister's story comes to an end.

It was only one month ago that Fire Lord Zuko had received a letter about his exiled sister, from the south pole. This was not nothing new, he had always gotten a letter about the progress Azula had made every month for the past few years. Even though he would not admit it, Zuko was very happy to hear about the positive changes that his sister had made over the years and was even happier to learn that she had even made friends with her 2 healers. Her first real friends in a very long time indeed. He was glad to hear that Azula had managed to make a living for herself and that she was really looking forward to moving into her new home in the village. He though that this letter would be no different and would only have good news about his sister. But as he began to read it, he soon realized that he would be wrong.

In it, he was told about Azula's apparent relapse and attempted suicide and how it was brought about when she heard one of her victims speak at an Anti-Fire Nation rally that was being held in the village. Zuko was stunned to learn of this and he still could not rap his mind around the idea of Azula wanting to take he own life. But really caught his attention, was the news that some one had managed to trak her down and try to convince her to topple himself and take control of the Nation. Just how Ju Long managed to locate her, Zuko would never know. But what shocked him even more, was the fact that a former Dai Li agent had also found her and after killing Deshi, tried to kill Azula!'. But in the end, it was Azula that killed the Dai Li, after he had struck down both of her healers/friends.

But all of this news were nothing compared to what he read next. Azula, his sister and former princess to the Fire Nation, wanted him to kill her. To say that Zuko was floored by his sister's request, was like saying that Toph was just a earth bender. In the letter, it stated that after what had happened to her and her friends that night, Azula was afraid that someone else would find her and that her friends would be the ones at risk if it were to ever happen again. The reason why she wanted this to happen, was not because she was she did not want any one to have the pleasure of killing her, but because she feared for the safety of the people around her. Not to mention, if information were to get out that Azula was free and living at the south pole, the impact from such a scandal would weaken Zuko's seat of power and cause a crack in the already fragile peace his country had with the Earth Kingdom. Which was now fast becoming a world power on par with the Fire Nation. It was not an easy decision, but Zuko allowed his sister to carry out her plan to protect her friends and brother and the end result... was now making its way to the palace.

Within minutes, the carriage carrying the former princess pulled up to the palace entrance and as it stopped, six solders proceeded to off lift the casket off the carriage and make the long trek to the alter where the service would take place. Trailing behind them, was Zuko and his wife, Fire Lady Mai. Who showed no emotion as they walked. Along the their path, members of both the army and navy, all dressed in their ceremonial attire lined the sides of the walkway. A few minutes later, the casket and company arrived at the alter. The casket was then placed on a pile of wood logs, that were placed in such a way as to give it some structure, while Zuko and his wife took their sets. Sitting with them, was also the Fire Lord's close friend and the Avatar, Aang and his wife Katara. Both of them giving Zuko words of condolence and support. Also with them, were the ambassadors from both the Northern and Southern water tribes. While the ambassador from the Earth Kingdom and Kyoshi island were noticeably absent from the ceremony. After a few prayers were given by the fire sage present, Zuko came up and gave an eulogy for his sister. Where he asked that people and history should not remember her as the monster that she was, but as just another victim of his father and should not be held accountable for her actions. After a few more words were given by Mai and a few others, Zuko along with the six other solders surrounded the alter and with one swift movement, all of them fire bended and engulfed the alter with a pillar of flame and they continued to fire bend until the casket and wooden alter was ablaze. Zuko and his wife stayed and watched the casket burn away until the fire died down and nothing was left. As he looked on, Zuko could have sworn that he saw a tear escape his wife's eye. If it were tears of sadness or of joy, Zuko may never know. After all was said and done, Zuko , his wife and friends made there way back into the palace where they would hold an wake for the lost princess.

It was now late and all of Zuko's guess had already left and gone their way, while Aang and Katara stayed at the palace as guest of the fire lord. As the night progressed, the palace staff turned in for the night, as well as Fire Lady Mai, Aang and his wife. That only left Zuko all alone, as he made his way through the dimly lit hall way. After a few minutes, the Fire Lord entered a darkened room that was located at the far end of the palace. Far away from any prying eyes. As soon as he entered, Zuko spoke up and said, " It's over, the all think that your dead." Then, a woman with shoulder length black hair with amber eyes and dressed in a female Earth Kingdom garb, came out from the darkness lit a candle with her finger, via Fire Bending.

"I just hope this works out for the best." Azula said, as she walked up to her older brother. After her run in with both Ju Long and the vengeful Dai Li agent, Azula began to fear that if any one else were to find out where she was and that it was Zuko that had freed her, they would come after her. Either to use her a a puppet to take over the Fire Nation, or to get revenge on her for something she did in the past. But what worried Azula the most, was that any one that was close to her would become a target and get hurt. That was what had happened to both Kodda and Morra when they tried to save her. Azula knew that as long as she was alive, there was a chance that some one would come after her. As well as, use said knowledge to under mind Zuko's authority and that could result in a civil war in the Fire Nation. It was then, that Azula came up with a rather cunning plan to protect those closet to her. Since a large portion of the world wanted her dead, Azula decided that the best course of action... was to fake her own demise.

4 days after her arrival at the Southern Water tribe capital of _Kya, _Azula sent a letter to her brother via messenger hawk, about her plan. All Zuko would have to do, was to come up with a cover story about her "death" and even though Zuko was a bit perplexed and stunned by his sister's plan, he under stood very well why Azula wanted this to happen. So after making a few arrangements with the warden of Boiling Rock prison, the 2 of them came up with a plausible cover story. It was to be said that Azula was found dead in her cell after she had been on a hunger strike for 8 days and all attempts to revive her had failed. It was not the most complex story in the world, but it served its purpose when the news was announced to the public about her untimely demise. Many in the Fire Nation, as well in the Earth Kingdom cried "_**Good Riddens!" **_and celebrated the demise of the Demon and Butcher. While some cried bitter tears that their beloved princess was gone, and even some others still could not believe or accept that their princess and last hope for the Fire Nation's revival, was gone. Both Zuko and his wife put on a show for the public, as they mourned for Azula. All the while knowing the truth about Azula's true fate. The funeral was nothing more than a sham, put on to convince the public that she was dead.

"I hope your right too, but are you sure that you want to go through with this? I could have just said that I pardoned you and you could come back to the palace to live. I even manage to talk Mai out of using her knives on you." Zuko said with a smile. Azula smiled herself a bit, but said...

" No, this is for the best. A lot of people want to see me dead and this is the only way to please them. Besides, there still may be persons that would want to use me as a tool to dethrone you. I can not let that happen." Zuko just nodded in under standing and said,

" But you do realize that after you leave the Fire Nation, you can never return. Every one already think of you as dead. If you were to return, it could cause some serious problems in the government." what Zuko said was true, to keep this ruse in place, Azula could not return to the Fire Nation under any circumstances. Azula just nodded and replied... " I under stand. But to tell you the truth, I never felt more at home than when I was at the south pole. I have a life there now and with friends that do care about me. If you only knew what it is like to have people around you that think of you as a friend."

"Actually... I can relate to that." Zuko said, reminding her that he did make friends out of the Avatar and his group. "Well.. I guess your should get ready to leave, the freighter to Gaoling leaves in a few hours."

"Yes. I guess I should get going." Azula replied, as she turned and proceeded to pack the last of her things into the bag that was on the bed. But as Zuko turned to leave , he suddenly found 2 arms wrapping around his neck and felt his sister head resting on his chest...

" Thank you," she cried, "Thank you for what you did for me... thank you for... loving me." she cried a little more. Zuko, though surprised at his sister's uncharacteristic out burst of emotion, just smiled as he hugged her back and said, "What is a big brother for?"

And there in the Fire Nation Royal palace, the 2 siblings once sworn enemies just embraced each other. Possibly, for the very last time.

About an hour later, Azula dressed in her Earth Kingdom garb that her brother had given her, boarded an carriage at the back of the palace and left for the docks, where a merchant ship was waiting to leave for the Earth Kingdom village of Gaoling. As the carriage made its way through the darken streets of the capital, Azula began to just wonder about what her brother had said. It was true that Zuko could have just allowed her to return to Fire Nation and live out her life in the palace. But some how to her, the thought of being able to return home no longer sounded appealing to her. As a mater a fact, she no longer considered the Fire Nation her home any more. There were too many bad memories that were associated with her native land, memories of a life that was forced upon her by her father. The life that she had now was a lot brighter, full of joy and hope. Azula knew what she was doing would not be easy, but to protect her friends and family, she was will to do anything. The only thing that gave her some sort of comfort, was the fact that she was able to thank her brother , for allowing her to get the chance to rebuild her life, and within a few minutes, Azula would be boarding a ship that would be taking her back to that life.

A life, that she knew that she wanted.

_**A/N: **Sorry if the chapter is a bit on the short side (and not one of my best) , but t__he story is not done yet. So hang on. Concluded in the next chapter. As always R&R and thank you. _


	16. Letters

_**Chapter 15: Letters**_

It had been 10 years since Zuko became Fire Lord and even though the years had been difficult, the new policies and social projects that he had put into place all those years ago were finally beginning to bare fruit. Thanks to Zuko's efforts, a number of coastal cites in the western and southern Earth Kingdom were now allowing Fire Nation merchant vessels to dock at their ports and conduct trade with the Fire Nation. This was due to the fact that a number of cites that had begun to trade with the Fire Nation soon after the war, had become very wealthy indeed. While the economies of those that had not done trade began to slow down and stagnate. Not wanting to see their cites fall apart, the rulers of said cities finally began to open up their ports to the Fire Nation and as a result, they began to do very well for themselves. Not to mention, since trade was established with several key trading cities in the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation' economy also began to grow for the first time since the end of the war. But there was still a catch to this, most of the cities had imposed taxes on Fire Nation goods and ships entering their ports. But they weren't enough to deter merchants from the Fire Nation, from doing business in those cities. Another piece of good news that would help both nations, was the announcement that 4 new ship yards would be constructed in the Earth Kingdom that would be used to construct new merchant vessels and barges. The plan was that even though the yards would be constructed primarily by the Earth Kingdom, the logistics and materials that would be used in the construction process, would come directly from the Fire Nation. And since the Fire Nation had experience with building such facilities, they would act as consultants for these new massive projects.

But Zuko did not forget about his own country men and nation when he set about revamping the Fire Nation economy. Zuko set about creating projects that would see a large amount of his citizens getting badly needed jobs and income. Projects such as the construction and development of road ways that would not only connect a number of cities and villages in the Fire Nation. To the construction of other major bridges and dams, all resulted in the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Both in the construction sector and other cottage industries. As a result, the Fire Nation was one again becoming a beacon of industrial might and engineering. Not to mention, the standard of living in the fire nation had gone up, while the cost had gone down. The Fire Nation was on the fast track to becoming an economic power house and for all the right reasons. But even so, there were still a number of problems that still plagued Zuko and his nation.

There were still the problem with rouge elements of Fire Nation solders still running amok in the Earth Kingdom and still causing trouble in a number of rural villages, and even though the Earth Kingdom had managed to either capture or kill a number of the rouge generals and their men, not to mention, the Fire Nation had manage to capture the _Fire Dragon _and its captain 2 years ago, the real problem came from small groups of men that would use quick raids rather than the full on assaults that they would normally do in the pass. But was not enough to derail the peace, prosperity and togetherness, that had fallen over the 2 nations and the whole world. As a matter a fact, both Zuko and his family had been invited by the Earth King himself, to come to Ba Sing Se later that year, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the end of the 100 year war. But as but all of these facts and more were far from the Fire Lord's mind, as he sat behind his sold wood desk in his private study. For in his hands, was a letter that had came in that morning, via messenger hawk, from the south pole. On it, was the the name of a village the he could not even pronounce and the image of a penguin in the top right corner. But it was the name on the letter that really got his attention. _Zura. _

This was the first time since Azula's "funeral" that he had heard from his "Dead" sister. He knew it was Azula because she had signed the letter with the alias that both she and Morra had made up when she went to the village for the first time. Curious of what the letter had to say, Zuko opened it and began to read.

_Dear Brother..._

_I want to thank you for what you did for me all those years ago. I can not even begin to to describe the feeling of joy and happiness that I feel ever day when I wake up every morning. Life in the village has been very good to me ever since I returned... home. _

_When I first arrived in Gaoling to transfer to the liner that would take me back to the south pole, I was tempted to just miss the liner and stay in Gaoling to live out my life. I was afraid that Morra and her family would forever hate me for allow them to be hurt. But when I stepped off the liner at Kya City, I was met by not only Kenga, but both Morra, Kodda their children and Bao. They all cheered and hugged me when I stepped off the ship. They were all happy to see... me. Kodda's leg was still in his cast and he was still using his crutches to move around, while Morra's arm was still in her sling. But that did not stop them from hugging me almost to death. I was surprise, to say the very least, that all of them were glad to see me. Considering what had happened to them that terrible night. _

_After the reunion, we all went to a near by restaurant to celebrate my "Glorious return" as Kodda had put it, and we all talked about what I had missed since I left them to come and see you. Kodda said thanks to the therapy treatments that he was getting from Morra, he would be able to get back on the water and fish again within a month. While Kenga announced that he was planning to ask his girl friend to marry him when he got back home. We all cheered for him when he said so, I was very happy for Kenga. I just know that he and Lin would very happy together. _

_When we finally return to the village, both Morra and Kodda set me up in their home once again. It was at this time that I remembered that it was both Morra and Kodda that had came to came to my rescue that night. I just had to know, what convinced them to save? Especially when Kodda found out just who I really was. But what Kodda told me, I could not believe..._

"_As far as I am concerned, you are not that monster that ever one thinks you are. You are as much as apart of this family as you are a friend and I would not let anyone harm somebody that was apart of my family." _

_Kodda considered me as a friend and as apart of his family. I can not even begin to tell you how that felt. Just to finally be accepted some where as a person. All I could do was thank him for what they had done for me. I even ended up staying with them until the mansion was completed and I moved in. _

_Now at days, all I do is keep an eye on the mansion and act as if I am really the care taker of the home. Wouldn't it be a surprise for the villagers to learn that the Earth Kingdom care taker, was actually the homes owner! But I digress. I still go fishing every now and again with Kodda and his children, and at least twice a week, I have dinner with Morra's family. And in turn, they have dinner with me at my home. _

_I have to say though, I never thought that I would end up at the south pole for the rest of my life. But after living here for the last 5 years, I cannot imaging my life living any where else. I am happy here, and there are people that consider me apart of their lives and families. _

_Thank you for allowing me to have a chance at a new start, and I will be forever grateful for your kindness towards me. _

_Forever your sister, Azula_

Zuko read the letter and smiled. He was glad to hear that his sister had finally found a sense of normalcy and happiness in her new life. She was now surrounded be people that really cared about her and see seemed determined to take ever advantage of the life that she now had. It was a life most people would think that she did not even deserve. But then again, most people could not of imagine the emotional turmoil that she have had to endure over the years. He knew that to keep his little fraud alive, Azula would never be able to come back home, nor could he ever see his sister again. But it would be a small price to pay, if it meant that his sister would be happy and safe, then it would be worth it. Zuko let that though sink in, as he got up from behind his desk and made his way to his family's quarters. But as he was about to leave, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Sitting on one of the many shelves in the study, was a small Earth Kingdom doll dressed in a green female Earth Kingdom gown. The doll had in fact, been given to him by Azula when she returned to the Palace. Even though Zuko was a bit puzzled at the rather odd gift, he accepted the doll and thanked her for the gift. He walked up to said doll , picked it up and smiled as he examined it.

" Azula my sister, you have certainly come a long way." Zuko thought, as he placed the doll with care back onto the shelf and left to rejoin his wife and family...

_**Epilogue...**_

Dawn was now breaking at the south pole and the amber rays of the morning sun crept along the frozen tundra, as Azula woke up from her night's slumber. The former Fire Nation princess had now been living at the south pole for 5 years and 1 year since she left her secluded bay and moved into her new home in the village. The move had been rather smooth, as it was Morra and her family that helped her move and settle in to her new home that Zuko had built for her. The cover story for her was that Jin, an Earth Kingdom business man had hired her to watch "his Vacation home" while he was in the Earth Kingdom. Jin would actually stay at the home every time he came to the south pole, but since he only came twice a year and only stayed for a couple days at a time, Azula had the house to all herself for the rest of the year.

As she got out of her bed, Azula found her loyal companion and friend Bao still sleeping at the foot of the bed. Not wanting to disturb her, Azula silently crept out of the room to freshen up and get ready for her day. But as she reentered the room, Azula found that Bao had left her spot and seemed quite content sleeping on her master's bed. "Bao! Get up!" Azlua yelled to her friend. The Polar Bear Dog for her part, just raised her head and gave Azula a "Make me!" look. Azula just smiled and shook her head, every morning they would do this and every morning it would end the same way. Azula just let her friend finish her nap and left to get breakfast ready.

About an hour later Azula, now dressed in full water tribe garb, as well as an well rested Bao, finished up their breakfast and were now headed into the village to do some shopping, as well as to meet up with some friends. After a few minutes of walking, Azula and Bao came to the village square where a few of the market stalls were set up and beginning to see some sales.

"Zura!" a familiar voice called out. When Azula looked to see who it was, she saw Morra and Kodda walking towards her. Morra and Kodda had both fully recovered from their run in with the Dai Li agent 2 years ago and were doing very well for them selves. Morra now had a school of her own where she would teach the benders of the village how to heal, both female and male. While Kodda still fished and provided for his family. Kenga had long since left the south pole after her had married his girl fried, Lin and had moved back to Gaoling to start a family with her.

"Morra! Kodda!" Azula/Zula called out, as her 2 friends came up to her. " How are you?"

"Were fine." Morra replied, " I even managed to steel away Kodda from his fishing boat for the day." she said happily, as she held on to him.

"I had no choice, it was either come with her or eat sea prune stew for the next month." He said with a grin, Azula smiled as well.

"Well then, I guess we should get started and be off. The faster we get every thing we need, the faster I could treat the both of you to lunch at my home." Azula proclaimed. The happy couple agreed and the trio were off into the village.

As she walked behind Morra and Kodda, Azula could not help but to think about her her life and where it had lead her up to. Since she was very young, she was raised to believe that her mother did not love her and that the only person that ever really could, was her father. She always thought that as long that she was loyal to him, she would always have his love and respect. She did some horrible things that branded her a monster and butcher and all for the her father. Who had drilled the idea into her head that her mother never really loved her. That her brother was in every way inferior to her and would never be the fire bender that she was. That he was the only one that could ever love her and as long that he loved her, Azula did not need any one else. She did not need her uncle, who at one time considered her beyond saving and she did not need her friends, who she treated more like servants and underlings. Who she eventually sent to prison after they had "betrayed" her at the boiling rock. She did not need any one.

But it was not until her third year of being imprisoned at the Fire Nation's most notorious prison, that she soon realized that all she had been told, all that she was lead to believe... were lies and nothing more. He father had never really loved her and her 2 friends... weren't even her friends. They only listened to her because she manipulated them into serving her. All the "_Glorious_" acts that she had committed in the name of the Fire Nation, were nothing more that cold blooded murder and her father new this. Azula's father had robbed her of her innocence and he could care less. All she was to him was a general and pawn in his plan to become the supreme overlord of the world and he did not care who he destroyed in his quest. Even his own son... or daughter.

But now, Azula was getting the opportunity to rebuild her life and start over. For the first time in her life, Azula had friends that really cared about her, accepted her for who she really was and considered her apart of their families. She had built a positive reputation in the village that she now called home and every one there knew her as the former fish monger turned care taker. But most of all, she was finally able to let go of the guilt that she had struggled with ever since she came to terms of what she had done in the past.

Though the world would forever remember her as a monster, the _Butcher of Ba Sing Se _and the _Mad_ _Princess _that died alone and insane, Azula could care less. The world could go to hell for all she cared. She now had a new life and she was not going to allow the sins of her misguided to pass destroy it. She may have to live out the rest of her life with a fake past and she would never be able to return the Fire Nation, but to her, it would be a small price to pay for what she had now. A feeling of normalcy, and of new purpose in life.

And with that thought in mind, Azula felt in her mind that she was truly... _Redeemed._

_**THE END.**_

_**A/N: **__And so comes to an end, just one of a number of Azula based stories . I know that it is not the most epic Azula story on the site, and when __**Legend of Korra **__comes out, it would most likely make this story irrelevant in the world of Avatar. But I truly did enjoy writing this fic and I am very happy that people liked it. I will be starting a new story soon, but it won't be an Avatar fic. _

_My only hope is that the next Avatar fic I do, would be just as good, if not better, as this one. Thank you very much for reading it. (bows)_

_With much respect, UH-60._


End file.
